Life, Avengers Style
by KieraPSI
Summary: Following his sentencing in Asgard, Loki and the Avengers have defeated the Mad Titan with the help of Asgard and its allies. Along with his wife Kara, Asgard's newest goddess, Loki must settle down to life on Midgard as an Avenger. Sequel to Fire and Ice, this is a series of loosely related one-shots that will be added to sporadically. Rated M for sex and coarse language.
1. Happy Holidays

"It will be totally awesome," Beth enthused. "All of the exhibits are decorated with Christmas lights and such; they're serving hot chocolate and apple cider, Santa will be there for the kids, and it will be so much fun." She smiled at them as the group pretty much glowered in unison. "And it's for charity; the proceeds are going half to the Children's Zoo and half to discounting rates for school groups so that more city kids can learn about the animals."

Now she had them. Tony sighed. "I could just write them a check," he muttered.

"You could do that too, Tony," Pepper said. "You're not going as heroes; this will be all incognito…well, more or less. Some of you will probably be recognized at some point. This is just something for us all to do together." Tony shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, think of it as a teambuilding activity," Steve told them all. She grinned at him. He'd been all over the idea when she'd shown him the article in the paper. He'd apparently never been to a zoo. While it was true many of the animals would not venture out in the cold and dark, he'd still love it.

Kara was frowning, as was Loki, but at least Loki's frown was thoughtful. "Pretty lights, things to see, strolling along at your leisure, it will be romantic," Beth wheedled.

Loki's expression softened further and he gave Kara a small smile. "Shall we be romantic, love?" he asked her as he lifted her hand to his lips. Yes! Another one hooked!

"I suppose. They have something like that at one of the California zoos, it was kind of nice."

Beth turned her pleading gaze on Darcy and Bruce. They were freshly returned from Asgard and while they weren't arguing or anything, they'd been spending a lot of time apart. "It's up to you, Darcy," Bruce said. "I'm okay with it either way."

"Christmas, huh?" Darcy mused. "At least there'll be lots of real people there."

"Darcy, there were real people in Asgard." Oh boy, that sounded like an old argument.

"Not human people…or excuse me, _mortal _people." The brunette was suddenly the focus of several annoyed stares. Beth had already had a convo with Steve about the fact that he might live a lot longer than she would. Clint had the same problem with Natasha. Logan, who was off visiting his X-Men friends, was also going to live a very long time and God only knew how long Loki and Kara would live; they were both, for all intents and purposes, immortal. Tony had been grousing about it, again, just the other day and had spilled that Bruce's lifespan, thanks to the other guy, was likely to be super long as well. Had Darcy finally been told?

"I'm sorry, Darcy. If I could change things, be normal again, I would. You know that." Yep, Darcy knew. "Come on, honey. Let's go stroll in the zoo, admire the lights, just do something normal."

"Okay. Yeah, I'm in."

Beth smiled and looked at Natasha and Clint. Well, more at Natasha. "We all missed out on Halloween and Thanksgiving between you guys saving the world and us all going to Asgard, what do you say?"

The very pregnant Black Widow frowned down at her baby bulge. "It would be an acceptable way to get some light exercise and fresh air," she decided.

"Wonderful! I'll call in and get our tickets arranged. They open at five-thirty; it'll be dark enough by then. We can go out to dinner after, if that's okay with everybody?"

"Not Mexican," Nat said quickly. "I love it, but the spices keep the baby up."

"How about Italian?"

… …

Darcy frowned down at the outfit she'd decided to wear. It had several layers, since she figured it would be pretty cold at the zoo; but it was cute. The boots alone had cost her a week's salary; well, a week's salary when she was just Jane's assistant. Her current salary was awesome, much higher than most poli-sci grads could expect. But then, most of them didn't get jobs being the Social Media Director for the Avengers. Damn, she loved that title, it even sounded important. She finished buttoning the silk blouse and pulled the cashmere sweater on over her head. It was a really nice sage green that matched her eyes and hugged the boobage. "Not that I want them highlighted," she muttered.

A knock sounded on her door. "Miss Lewis, Dr. Banner is at the door," Jarvis told her.

"Thanks, J; could you pop it open for me?" she asked as she reached for the pendant Queen Frigga had given her as a thank you gift for helping Bruce navigate the intricacies of negotiation. It was a gorgeous piece of gold and held a golden topaz stone. Frigga had been great; she'd been the one whose shoulder Darcy had cried on when she'd overheard some of the delegates offering Bruce sympathy for his attraction to a 'mortal whose light would be doused in the mere blink of an eye'. She blinked rapidly to stop the tears in their tracks. Darcy Lewis did not cry goddammit. She was the strongest of the strong, the toughest of the tough, the…

"Hey, Darce; you okay, honey?" That soft warm voice made all of her strength melt away like ice under the summer sun. She grabbed a pair of tissues and held them at the corners of her eyes to catch the tears so her mascara wouldn't run and give her raccoon eyes.

"Sure, fine. Be with you in a sec." She took a deep breath and was about to let it out slowly when Bruce closed the gap between them and wrapped her in his always surprisingly strong arms. I mean, seriously. Everyone knew the Hulk was strong, but nobody suspected it of Bruce with his absent-minded professor look. "Don't, please."

"We need to talk about it, honey. Pushing the issue aside isn't doing either of us any good."

Why did he always have to make sense? "What's there to talk about? I'm going to get old, you aren't. Not any older than you are now, anyway."

"Ouch. Gee, thanks." He loosened his hold and let her turn to face him. "Darcy, just because I don't seem to be aging now, doesn't mean that I won't in the future; I just don't know what will happen, no one does."

"Lady Eir seems to think you might be immortal, or as immortal as they are anyway."

"She also said she's never seen anything like this. Come on, Darcy. You were okay when you thought you'd end up with an old man while you were still fairly young."

"That's different."

He sighed. It was a tired sound. "And here I thought I'd be rejected because I was too dangerous to love; not because my aging stopped. It's ironic." She looked up in time to see his sad smile slip away. "We can call it quits if you want. I-I don't want you to feel obligated."

Did she feel obligated? She'd broken down and told him that she loved him one night in Asgard while they stood on their balcony looking out at the alien constellations in the night sky. She'd meant it, too. No one had ever taken her so seriously; made her feel smart, important, cherished. Most men just saw her as sexy and sarcastic; a hot bod with not much going on otherwise. Bruce saw _her_; he loved _her_, not her boobs, not her pussy. He loved Darcy Lewis, all of her. "I don't want. Geez, Bruce; I'm just scared. Just…I don't know."

"Okay. How about an easier question? Do you want to go out with the others tonight?"

She smirked. "Yeah, I do. I wish I thought they'd spike the hot chocolate with Bailey's though."

"We can have some of that later."

… …

It was a nice night; Kara was glad they'd decided to come. The lights were pretty awesome, people were smiling everywhere, and they even had carolers; just the right kick to get them into the Christmas spirit. Well, most of them. She stole a glance at her husband. Loki was peering into one of the enclosures at a big black cat, jaguar or panther; she wasn't sure and was too lazy to go looking for the sign. The animal was half in and half out of the heated part of the habitat. Evidently all of the lights and commotion had sparked its interest. "Reminds me of you," she said playfully.

His eyebrow lifted. "In what way?"

"He's sleek, powerful, beautiful and dangerous as all hell."

"Hmm, yet you managed to make me purr." She laughed as he tugged her closer and nuzzled her jaw. "Your skin is so warm," he said softly before nipping her earlobe.

"It's damn cold, I'm compensating." They were both wearing light jackets and scarves. She'd added a brownish newsboy cap with rhinestones. Darcy had called it 'the ultimate redhead's hat' as the shade complimented her hair. Her scarf was forest green cashmere and Loki wore the silk one he'd worn in Stuttgart. That had raised a few eyebrows amongst the team, but her ever-mischievous love had insisted. He did enjoy putting people on edge. "Stop that," she told him as he began kissing down the length of her neck.

"Why? You know you love it."

"I'm not an exhibitionist." He sighed heavily. "No, I'm not going to make an exception for you," she scolded. "There're lots of kids around."

"Very well." He petulantly pulled the collar of her jacket back up to cover the skin he'd exposed. "Tonight, you owe me."

Kara had to laugh. "Once we get back to our rooms," she agreed.

"Damn, it's cold." They turned as Tony and Pepper made their way to the enclosure. "Wait, why aren't you freezing?"

Loki smirked at him. "Frost giant?"

"Oh, right. Aaaannnd?" he asked, looking at her.

"It's part of my pyrokinesis, Tony. I can self-adjust my body temperature to deal with the cold."

"I did not know that. Did I?"

"I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it. You didn't go to Jötunheim with us."

"Damn. Color me jealous."

Pepper stared out at them wistfully from her the depths of her down filled coat and hood. "I have to admit, I am too for a change."

"I'm sorry," Kara offered.

"I'm not."

"Loki, be nice."

He grinned. "If I were being nice…" he trailed off as she frowned at him. "Oh, very well. Pepper, take off your glove." Loki sighed when she hesitated. "Do you want to be warmer or not?" The glove was yanked off hurriedly. "Place your hand on mine," he instructed, holding his hand level, palm out.

Pepper complied and a green glow surrounded their hands for a moment and then seeped into hers. "Oh! Oh, thank you, Loki, that's much better."

"Wait; did you just make her not feel the cold?" Tony asked.

"No, but the ward will take the edge off of it for her. If you two hold hands, bared hands," he clarified. "You will be covered by it as well."

Tony immediately pulled his right glove off and took Pepper's left hand. "Damn, Rock of Ages, I owe you a solid." Their honorary brother grinned as Loki frowned at him. "Get it? Rock, solid…no?"

"No. Pepper, have you never told your fiancé that he has an utterly juvenile sense of humor?"

"Frequently. But you know how he is, Loki."

"Unfortunately. Ah well, for your sake, you get to keep the ward. It's your choice whether he gets to keep possession of your hand. I'd insist he pay for the privilege in some manner were I you."

"If you were me, Tony wouldn't have made it past his thirty-seventh birthday. Luckily for him, I have a much higher tolerance for his antics." Pepper turned to frown at her fiancé. "Tony, if you don't want to continue freezing your backside off, you will make that appearance at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore that Beth suggested."

"Cap will go; all the kids love that red, white and blue."

"The boys want to see Iron Man and you will give them Iron Man; no debate, you're doing it."

"Damn. Okay."

Kara gave Loki a sidelong glance. "Happy now?" she asked him.

"Yes, actually."

… …

"Damn, it is fucking freezing," Clint muttered as he watched Natasha peer at an exhibit which purportedly held wolves. All that could be seen where gray lumps of fur gathered near the entrance of an enclosure.

"Wimp." She shot him what, for her, was an indulgently fond look. "You'd have never lasted one winter in Russia."

"I admit it. Let's just hope that Merida takes after you and not me in that area."

"_Brianna_ is doing just fine," she retorted.

He grinned. Loki's suggestion to use reverse psychology to get the name he wanted for their baby was working. Nat was totally convinced that Brianna was the name she wanted. Now he had to work on the middle name. "Merida Sophia Romanov," he insisted.

Nat's stubborn expression emerged. Not that most people would recognize it as a stubborn expression. It was mostly just a setting of her jaw accompanying a slight frown and an even slighter narrowing of her eyes. "Brianna Merida Barton and that is final. Deal with it, Hawk."

"I don't get a say?"

"You wanted Merida, we're using Merida. I don't want her to have a Russian name, so she's using Barton. Stop arguing with me."

He heaved a sigh. "Fine; it can be Merida Brianna Barton, then."

"Hawk."

Her voice had gone dangerous. Damn that was sexy. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you're annoyed with me?"

"Do you have any idea how much I want to rip your penis off and make you eat it when you say things like that?"

Whoops. "Sorry, Nat. Okay, Brianna Merida…Barton."

"Good choice."

This time he hid the grin. The game would be up for sure if she saw it. And she would see it, six months plus pregnant or not, the Black Widow didn't miss a thing. "It's still damn cold," he muttered, careful to sound sullen about it. He frowned as Kara and Loki came into view; the two were only wearing light jackets. "That is so damn unfair." Nat frowned at him. "Look at them; not cold at all. Fuck."

Her eyebrows rose. "He is a frost giant; well, half, anyway. He just wore trousers and his boots in Jötunheim and it was much colder there; and Kara is the goddess of Fire."

"Yeah, yeah; I get that, but it's still annoying." He grinned suddenly. "Hey, Loki? Your godchild is gonna freeze here; anything you can do to help?"

The smug bastard smirked. Yeah, he still thought he was a bastard most of the time, though he'd really grown to like the guy. "A bit cold, are you, Barton?"

Shit. Like his beautiful Natasha, Loki didn't miss a frigging trick. "Yeah, you caught me." Loki's smirk deepened and Kara was looking pretty damn amused too. "Aw, come on, buddy. Help me out here?"

"Natasha, would you like to be a bit warmer?" Loki asked instead.

"I wouldn't mind."

"Fine, glove off and lay your hand on mine." He held out his hand and once Nat had done as instructed the telltale glow of his magic seeped into her. "There; it's all done."

Clint looked from one to the other. "Aw, now that's definitely…"

"If you hold your lady's hand, you'll be warmer as well," Loki informed him.

He shot Natasha a pleading look. "No more arguing with me about Brianna's name," she told him. "She'll be Brianna Merida Barton." She held out her hand to him with a firm frown.

"Okay, you win; Brianna Merida Barton it is." His smile answered hers as he took her hand. He sighed at the almost immediate relief from the cold. Stealing a glance at Loki as Nat started to turn away he raised his free hand. "Thanks, man; for everything." Loki's only response was a wink.

… …

Loki stifled a laugh as he overheard Bethany whispering to Steven. "I didn't realize it was going to be this cold. Do you think they'll be mad at me?" she asked.

"It's New York City in the third week of December, honey. If they weren't expecting cold, it's not your fault. Now go ahead, drink your cocoa. That'll warm you up a bit." He watched the two blondes from the shadows. Rogers stood so that he blocked the light breeze from further chilling his lady; ever the gentleman. "Do you want mine, Beth?" he asked as the girl tossed her empty cup in the nearby trashcan.

"No, but thanks. I'll go into sugar overload if I drink anymore. I wish they had coffee."

"Your cheeks and nose are so pink; it makes you prettier than ever."

Oh kill me now, Loki thought as Rogers delivered that bit of tripe. He flinched as Kara elbowed him in the ribs, hard. "What was that for?" he asked.

"I felt that disdain. Be nice; he's being sweet and reassuring. That's what she needs."

"I've been nice, all evening," he groused. "Heimdall is likely laughing himself sick."

"Oh, he's doing no such thing. I'll bet he's very proud of you."

Loki borrowed one of her pat responses. "Whatever."

"Cute. Now go help Beth."

He rolled his eyes for form's sake and approached the couple. They truly did look an unsettling bit like those dolls that Tony had shown him on the internet; Barbie and Ken, they were called. "Too cold, are we?" he asked, forcing a kind note into his voice.

"A bit, yeah. I guess it doesn't bother you?" Bethany responded.

"Bother, no; but it is colder than I prefer. May I help take the edge off of it for you?"

"Really?" Steven interjected. "You can do that?"

He shrugged. "Now that the majority of the restrictions are off of my use of power, yes."

"That would be amazing," the soldier continued. "Beth's been pretty miserable."

"So I saw. Bethany; remove your glove and lay your hand on mine." He held out his hand and established the cold mitigating ward as soon as she obeyed. He was pleasantly surprised at how quickly she had complied, and that she did so without question or hesitation. "How is that; better?"

"Oh my God, yes. Thank you so much, Loki! I was feeling totally frozen."

"You're welcome. I've owed you a favor. You and Dr. Nassar did a wonderful job caring for Nyvorlas; I doubt he would have recovered nearly so well without you both."

"That's just my job as team physician; you really didn't owe me, honest."

"Hmm. I chose to see it that way. Please don't deny me the pleasure of returning what I saw as a favor."

"Of course not." He stiffened as the girl threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thanks," she said again as she released him. "Are you two enjoying the lights?" she asked.

"Yes, it's quite festive." He had to smile at her enthusiasm. Hmm. "There is a Festival of Lights in Asgard once every five of your years. The entire city is lit only by scented candles in special lanterns with colored crystal panes. Floating lanterns holding candles travel down the canals. The celebration should be coming up sometime in the next year. Perhaps that would be something for the team to plan on attending? I'm certain my mother would enjoy hosting all of you again."

"Really? That sounds awesome. Steve, don't you think so?"

"It does. Thanks, Loki; if you can nail down the dates, we can put it on the calendar and make arrangements ahead of time so we don't tick off S.H.I.E.L.D. by all taking off without notice."

"I'll do that." He turned to leave them. "Captain; is this not supposed to be an evening of romance? Why are you not holding your lady's hand?" Letting his smirk emerge he walked off and listened closely.

His attention was rewarded a moment later when Rogers discovered that holding Bethany's hand extended the cold relief to him and muttered: "That son of a gun." He kept his laughter soft enough for the humans to overlook.

… …

Darcy was too damn cold. In fact, she was freezing her tits off. Bruce knew this because she had told him so in no uncertain terms at least five times already. Yes, it was definitely cold and he'd bet that her nipples were hard from that cold and straining against her bra; it was doubtless terribly aggravating. Of course, if she'd try to focus on something else, like the Christmas lights there were purportedly here to admire, she probably wouldn't be quite so miserable. He hated it when she was miserable. It didn't help that he was part of the reason for her mood. Or rather, his idiocy in experimenting with gamma radiation was. The best thing that ever happened in his life had come about because of the worst thing that had happened; and he'd end up losing that best thing, again, because of the worst thing. That was so damn depressingly ironic. He tried not to hate anything, but with irony, he was losing the battle. "You know I'd never leave you, don't you?" he asked; trying to continue the conversation they'd had earlier. She flashed him an annoyed look. "It won't matter to me how we age, either of us. I love you and I'll stay with you, no matter what…so long as you'll have me."

"I'll be ancient and wrinkly and you'll still want to hold me? Will you still want to fuck me?" she asked.

"I'll still make love with you for as long as we're both physically capable of it and you're still enjoying it. If you're not enjoying it anymore, we won't; if you are, we will." This time her expression was doubtful. "Darcy, I won't care. Love is about more than what's on the surface. You are about more than your looks and your body; you'll always be extraordinary to me." Oh crap. A tear was making its way down her cheek. "Honey, please don't cry."

Darcy sniffed. "Not crying," she insisted.

"Doctor? Can I have a word with you?" Oh damn, what did Loki want? "It will only take a moment."

"Go," Darcy said. "I'm going to duck into the loo. Hopefully there's some heat in there so my ass won't freeze to the seat."

"Okay, Darce." He waited until she'd disappeared into the restroom and then walked over to where Loki waited. "What is it?"

"I noticed you're having problems with Darcy."

"I'm sure it's very amusing."

"No, actually, it is not. Would you like us to speak with her? Before I was sentenced Kara and I faced much the same dilemma. We could both reassure her from our own points of view that you are sincere and will truly still love and desire her."

"I don't…you know, why not? It couldn't hurt. That would be great, thanks."

"One more thing; hold out your hand; remove your glove first."

Bruce stared at him. Loki's gaze was kind of challenging, like he was daring him to trust the trickster. Hell, they'd saved each other's lives on Jötunheim, he could trust him here. If not, the other guy would come out and the zoo would have a Loki shaped hole in its concrete. They could probably use it as a tourist attraction. "Okay." Loki covered his palm with his far longer hand and the god's signature magic gathered. Bruce tried not to flinch as it disappeared into his own body. His eyebrows rose as he felt a bit of warmth seeping through him.

"I had to do this on you rather than Darcy. Your system is unique and I didn't think her being warded from the cold would transfer to you by touch as it does for the other couples." Loki's thin lips curved up in his trademark combination smug and mischievous grin. "As a bonus, if Darcy wishes to be a bit warmer, she'll have to hold your hand for the rest of the evening."

He chuckled ruefully. "Oh, you are sneaky. Nice job, I'm impressed."

"I thought you might be."

… …

"Now was that really so hard?" she asked Loki when they'd returned home from dinner.

He turned the patented Loki Glare of Death on her for a full minute before his mouth twitched. "Not the way I went about it, no," he allowed.

"And that was fine; you're allowed to have fun when you're doing something that's nice. In fact, you should have fun with it. What I do want to know is how you managed to make both Nat and Clint think they scored off of each other."

"I took a page out of your book, literally."

"Huh?"

Loki smirked and pulled one of her old psychology textbooks off of their bookshelf. "I'd been reading and decided one of the principles was very similar to how I convince others to take the side I wish them to take with none the wiser. Our godchild will be named Brianna Merida Barton, the name you and Thor most approved of, and both Barton and Romanov each believe it is their own idea and that the other did not approve of it. They now each think they've had their way over the other's objections."

"When in reality, they both would likely have chosen something else?"

"Yes, most likely."

"Loki, they're the parents; naming their child whatever they want is their prerogative."

"How many times have you complained about the names some of your celebrities gave their children? Didn't at least one of those children legally change their name to something far more reasonable once he reached adulthood?"

True. David Bowie named his son Zowie. Poor Zowie had insisted on being called Joey in school and then had later changed his name to Duncan after some family member or other. "But some don't, that's why there's a woman running around out there named Moon Unit who has a brother named Dweezil."

"I believe that makes my point. Did you really want a godchild named Sophia?"

"You're the one who objected to Greek names. Which reminds me; what do you have against the Greeks?"

He sighed. "I had a run-in with Ares over a maiden named Arionna. Turned out she was his child; how was I to know? He hadn't claimed or acknowledged the chit in any way. She wasn't even aware of the relationship." She waited as he frowned fiercely. "It wasn't as if I'd taken her maidenhood. All I did was kiss the damn girl and he was ready to start a war over it."

Crap. Apparently the Greek pantheon was real too. "Wasn't he their god of War?"

"Well, yes; but I hadn't harmed her in any way. He should have been flattered that she was so remarkable that she caught the attention of a god."

"Do they have a separate Realm somewhere?"

"No, they're here on Midgard; but they've faded a great deal. Zeus is fairly reasonable but his son is more of an ass than...ah…"

"More than you used to _think _your father was?"

Loki glanced skyward uncomfortably. "Yes, obviously I was mistaken about my father, which makes Ares even more of an ass than I'd thought."

"But everything got straightened out."

He scowled. "If you can call it that. I was the one who was penalized though I was not at fault. I was courting the chit in good faith. Ask Thor, he was caught in the backlash as well. We were both banned from Midgard for over a century. The worst thing about it was watching Odin apologize to that bastard Ares for my behavior when I had done nothing wrong and then being chastised over the whole affair in front of the entire Realm at a formal court."

"How did Thor get caught up in it?" Loki mumbled something she couldn't hear and threw himself down on the sofa. "Loki?"

Rolling his eyes Loki sighed. "He stood up for me at court and insisted that I was as innocent in the matter as he was and that if I were to be punished, then he would take the same punishment as it would be equally undeserved."

She stared at him. "And you later had the unmitigated gall to deny him the title of brother?"

"Yes, well, I was dealing poorly with the shock of finding out what I really was." He fidgeted as she continued to frown at him. "I have apologized, you know."

"I do know. I'm sorry, that was just kind of amazing to hear. From what I'd heard before all he ever did was put you down."

"No, not always; I suppose never when it truly counted." Loki let his head drop back on the sofa and sighed. "I do love him, you know; even when he's being an ill-mannered oaf."

"Yes, you do." She sat down beside him and caressed his cheek and jaw. "And I love you." Letting her fingers trail down his neck and across one shoulder she leaned in to press a kiss to his frowning lips. "And I'm so very proud of you. You made everyone feel good tonight; thank you."

"So does that mean it's your turn to make me feel good?"

… …

His Kara gave him a languorous smile as she straddled his legs. "I did promise," she agreed.

Loki chuckled. She was very happy with him and a happy Kara meant a very cooperative Kara so far as bed sports went. Oh yes, this was shaping up to be a lovely night. He kissed those tempting lips and ran his hands down her still a bit too prominent spine. "Your weight is starting to stabilize, but you still need to eat frequently for a while longer," he told her as he gripped the firm globes of her backside and pulled her more tightly against him.

"I'm trying. I did eat a whole pizza by myself tonight."

"Very impressive, how…" the sound of an alert cut him off.

"Avengers, assemble," Jarvis announced.

"Oh for pity's sake," he spat. "Now what?" He stood and pulled his armor to him using his magic then did the same for his lady.

"Captain Rogers requests your presence on the launch pad, your highness."

"Which one of us, or both?"

"Both, sir."

He growled his annoyance at the interruption and pulled his now armored lady into his arms and shifted them to the roof. "What is it," he spat at the soldier.

"Loki, calm down, it isn't his fault."

Clenching his jaw he stared her down for a moment and then relaxed. "True. Sorry, Steven. What do you need me to do?"

Rogers gestured to the modified Quinjet and they followed him on board. Clint jumped in after them and ran to the cockpit. "Stark's gonna meet us there," the archer told them as Banner arrived and strapped in.

"Okay, team. We've got a group of would-be international terrorists that have wired the Brooklyn Bridge to blow. We've been called in as they've got some high-profile hostages in the middle of the bridge, they cut off a motorcade, trapped them on there. It seems the people in the motorcade, a bunch of diplomats, are their target rather than the bridge itself."

"Did they leave the hostages in the vehicles or have they gathered them all together?" Loki asked.

Bruce hit a few buttons and an image sprang to life between them. The hostages were sitting in the middle of the span, back to back in a huddled circle. "The bad guys seem to be spread out across the entire length of the bridge. That's going to make it difficult to take them out," he said.

"But easier to protect the hostages." Loki frowned as he considered his options. "I can't shift all of them out of there; I'd lose some of them in the void. I can shift myself to the spot in the midst of them and shield the entire group from any harm short of the collapse of the bridge itself."

"That's a good start," Rogers agreed.

"Hey, guys? Jarvis found the frequency for the signal they're using on the detonator control. We're blocking it as of…now," Tony reported.

"Great job, Iron Man. Okay; that means we need to just go after the individual terrorists. Hellbringer; can you drop them empathically?"

"When they're spread out the entire length of the bridge? Ah, no. I'm good, but that's even out of my league. I can't fry them as a group either."

"Well, we didn't want to go that far, anyway."

"Speak for yourself." Loki knew his tone was sour, but couldn't care less. These pathetic cretins had ruined his plans for enjoying the favors of his lovely wife and he was pissed. Kara frowned at him and he shrugged in return. "Should I lie and pretend I'm pleased to have our evening interrupted?"

"Loki, chill. This is what we're here for," she scolded.

That brought him up short. It was true; since the Battle of Central Park, as the second invasion had come to be called, the usual suspects that kept most of the special teams across the planet busy had lain low; probably petrified that they'd be next after seeing film of the destruction of Thanos. The most he had been called upon to do since their return from Asgard was rescue work arising from natural disasters. "My bad," he muttered over the communications unit they all wore. Stark snorted in response.

"I'm going to take over from Hawkeye," Banner told them. "I can protect the QJ from boarding," he said, using Tony's latest abbreviation that yet again seemed to catch on with all of them. "I really don't think we want my other angry and on that bridge."

"Good thinking, doc," Rogers agreed. "The Hawk can go high and pick off targets individually. Iron Man, scope out the entire bridge and call out locations as you identify them. Kara and I can go down the middle and pull out targets that have too much cover for Hawkeye to take out."

"Kara, take my weapon," Loki insisted, pulling his scepter from hammerspace. "I know you won't want to burn them. The energy blast will do them a lot less damage than your fire if your projections aren't enough to keep them off of you."

"You do realize I can likely punch their lights out at this point?"

"Yes, but you have to get too close to do so. I'd rather you stay safe." He glared at Rogers who had chuckled. "You may find humor in my protectiveness when you allow Bethany to take the field."

"Right, sorry. Okay, we ready to do this? Let's go!"

One of the women amongst the hostages shrieked when he materialized between them, attracting the attention of the terrorists assigned to guard them. He threw up a shield seconds before a rain of bullets was loosed. The twit screamed in full-voice as they bounced harmlessly off of the magical barrier. "Do cease that caterwauling," he snapped. "You are safe." The woman gaped at him. "All of you stay down and relax while the Avengers take out the enemy, hmm?"

A man in an expensive suite frowned at him. "The bridge is lined with explosives, do they know that?"

"Yes, that's being handled. Where is your security?" He didn't see a single person amongst them that could possibly be such.

"Replaced by the terrorists at some point, well, most of them. The few that were still our people died trying to stop them."

"I see." He tapped his earpiece switching it from the team channel to one that was monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D. "This is Loki. The embassy that was targeted was betrayed by false security personnel; you might want to look into it."

"Roger that."

"No, not Rogers, Loki. Are you deaf?"

There was a slight commotion on the other end before a new and this time more familiar voice spoke up. "This is Hill. Tell Rogers to brief you on radio jargon. You were being told that we understood your warning and that we would take care of it."

"Ah. Thank you for the clarification, Deputy." He looked out beyond his shield. Another of the women in the group was staring at him. "What?"

"You-you're Prince Loki?" she asked breathlessly.

"I am." He prepared himself mentally for the rant about homicidal maniacs that was sure to follow.

"Can I have your autograph?"

That had to be the very last thing he was expecting in the middle of a hostage situation. "Woman, do you realize that you are still in very real danger? This is not the time to be seeking mementoes." She turned back and stared at the ground, her cheeks bright pink. He sighed. "I don't do autographs, but after everyone is safe you may take a photograph if you wish." The embarrassed woman wasn't the only one who looked excited at the prospect. "Yes, any of you may, but until I tell you that you are completely safe, stay quiet unless you have vital information." Thankfully, they all fell silent.

"Loki has a fan club," Stark said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm certain Iron Man would be happy to pose for photographs as well," Loki said sweetly.

"You son of a bitch."

"It takes one to know one, Tony." Loki smirked as he listened to the lighthearted grumbling that ensued as his teammates worked to take out the scattered terrorists. Yes, his teammates; what a concept. One hundred and nine years and nine months to go. He could handle that.

… …

**Author's Notes:** To my new readers, if you haven't read Fire and Ice, you may want to do so, it will explain the backstory. To those who have read it...Welcome back, gang! The format will be a bit different this time around. While it will be largely time sequential, we won't necessarily have a continuous storyline. Each chapter will be standalone...this means...NO CLIFFHANGERS! I know some of you will be thrilled. Loki will be in all of the chapters to some degree as this is basically the story of him serving his sentence and becomming the person he was meant to have become all along. Enjoy!

**Volunteer for a Character needed: **

Okay, my little chickadees: I need a one night stand character for Thor. She will be either a SHIELD agent or a rich debutante attending Stark Industries New Year's Eve bash.

Present me with your character, based on you, appearance and name of your choice, which you want her to be (Agent or Debutante), and what she'd be wearing to a semi-formal bash where she hoped to attract a hot guy.

This will be a one night stand (or perhaps a friends with benefits thing); this character will NOT be Thor's HEA (I've already got that plotted out), and is NOT interested in falling in love with anyone. She just thinks Thor is H.O.T.T. HOT and wants to add a godly notch to her bedpost. She will NOT be breaking his heart or hurting him in any way, she'll just be someone he has fun with.

I also need hobbies, a bit of background, so that they'll have something to converse about before they get hot and heavy.

Have you wanted to get Thor in bed? This is your chance! I'll pick the one I like best and will have him flirt with the rest at times during the party. Submissions being taken NOW, but hurry…I need this before I post the next chapter of Life, Avengers Style!


	2. Auld Lang Syne

"Thor looks so sad," Pepper said quietly. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"Short of finding him the love of his life? Come on, Pep. Sure, Blondie's hurting, but he's a big boy, he'll deal."

"Maybe we shouldn't have insisted he come for the New Year's celebration. It's terribly couple-centric, particularly in this group. We should have left well enough alone."

"Yeah…uh, no. Since the BOD decided we had to have a public party, it means that there will be a hell of a lot of available women there. He'll be swamped with attention, he'll flirt, admire all of the different beauties and even if he doesn't find a special one, he'll be reminded of how many fish there are in the ocean. It'll be fine." Tony shrugged. "That's how I dealt with it all the years I was alone."

She turned to frown at him. "No, you dealt with it by drinking. Heavily."

Tony had the good grace to look sheepish, and he didn't deny it, thank heaven. Otherwise she would have had to give him a serious piece of her mind. "Okay, you got me. So, Plan B, we get Thor drunk off of his godly ass."

Pepper choked back a laugh. "How much alcohol does it take to get a god drunk? You still haven't managed it with Loki." And he'd tried; her intrepid fiancé, in the name of science or so he'd claimed, had organized a drinking game wherein Loki had to drink every round and only one of the remainder of the group had to drink in any one round. Since everyone but Natasha had gotten in on the game that meant the god drank ten shots to their one. He had barely been tipsy after thirty rounds, three shots for each of them, thirty for him.

"Huh. That might be a problem."

"Tony, you're a genius, or so you continually proclaim," Loki said as he and Kara got off of the elevator. "Why is it you always seem to be having a problem you cannot resolve?"

"Because I'm forced to deal with Æsir and Jötnar and what have you on a daily basis," her genius shot back without missing a beat. "Seriously, Lokes; what does it take to get you guys drunk?"

Inky eyebrows shot up. "Copious amounts of Asgardian ale or mead, generally. Or some varieties of Álfar wine. Midgard's alcoholic offerings are rather pitiful in their potential for inebriation." Loki smirked at Tony's frustrated hand gesture. "Why are you so obsessed with getting me intoxicated?"

"I'm not. I was hoping to get Goldilocks to loosen up for the party tomorrow night so he can have a good time." Pepper tried not to laugh at the disgusted expression that accompanied Tony's statement, but it took every ounce of willpower she possessed.

"Ah, well." Loki's smirk had disappeared and he actually looked thoughtful. "Perhaps finding a willing woman to seduce him would do the trick."

Kara groaned and rolled her eyes. "Why is it men seem to think getting laid fixes everything?" she asked. Pepper shrugged. It was something she'd never understood either.

"Hey, it worked wonders for your own personal Frost Giant," Tony said defensively.

"No. Falling in love worked for Loki, not getting laid; that's a totally different thing."

"Have I mentioned how greatly I detest your euphemisms for lovemaking?" Loki muttered.

"YES!" they chorused.

Tony went back on the attack. "Besides, getting laid and making love is not the same thing at all. I make love with Pepper; I've gotten laid by lots of different people, it's totally different."

"Did I need the reminder?" she asked him. He winced. "I think what Tony meant was that feeling wanted and desired is a good way to brighten a man's outlook on life. Thor needs to know that just because Jane isn't the love of his life it doesn't mean he has to be lonely until he does find his, um…"

"Other half, according to Frigga," Kara supplied.

"Exactly. So, Operation…what should we call it?" Pepper frowned as Tony muttered something under his breath. "What was that?"

Loki snorted. "GTL; I imagine that stands for 'Get Thor Laid'. Could you be any more crude, Tony?"

"In my defense, yes, I could, easily."

"Rebound?" Kara offered. "What?" she asked as they stared at her. "We're trying to get him back into the swing of things and that's what a rebound encounter or even a relationship does. It takes your focus off of the failed relationship and opens your eyes to the possibility of a new one."

"Operation Rebound it is," Pepper agreed.

… …

"I have nothing to wear."

Clint looked over his shoulder at the flat statement. It had to be hormones. Natasha was never at a loss about clothing. Of course, with her pregnancy advancing, her choices were a hell of a lot more limited, but it still wasn't like her. "Should I get a car brought around and we'll go get you something new?"

A deep sigh answered him; also atypical. "Let's just skip the event. I look like shit."

Aw fuck. "You look like a gorgeous woman who is six months pregnant; still beautiful, just in a different way. I think you look as sexy as all hell."

She gave him a grateful look; again, what the fuck? "You're biased, but thanks. At least you didn't give me the 'you're glowing' or 'you're radiant' line."

Nat was glowing and she did look radiant, but since she was looking radiantly murderous he had decided not mentioning it was the better part of valor. "Babe, I love you and I wish I could make everything better, but I'm kinda lost here." He carefully rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm, trying to be comforting without her thinking he was being condescending. It was a damn delicate balance these days.

She turned into him, wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his neck. Oh, this was _really _bad. Thankfully Beth had warned him that pregnancy could seemingly give a woman a complete personality transplant. He just had to go with it, whatever the hell _it_ might be. "I love you too, Hawk," she mumbled. "I know I'm totally off here, it's been a long time since I've felt this vulnerable. I-I'm not handling it well."

"That's bullshit. You're handling everything great. I know it's been tough, but you haven't done the whole woe is me crap like some women. You're strong, firm, and smart about everything. I'm in awe."

Nat looked up at him and just stared for a minute, her mouth hanging open. Finally she shook her head slightly and hugged him instead of just clinging to him. "I take it back." She smiled, one of her rare real smiles where her eyes lit up, and then stroked his jaw. "You really can do the sensitive with words deal. I'm impressed."

He grinned. "Thanks. Now, do you want to go shopping for a new outfit?"

"Since this event is going to be all over FacePage and Darcy's planning on using it to announce my pregnancy, I suppose I'd better."

… …

Tony smirked as he had Jarvis close the connection and headed out on the deck to check the weather. He preferred to feel the weather rather than just have Jarvis report it. Besides, he'd spent nearly an hour making last minute personal invitations to a number of high society single women that he'd discovered hadn't responded to the initial official invitations sent out by Stark Industries' Public Relations Director and needed to breathe. He'd casually told them that Thor, the currently unattached Crown Prince of Asgard, would be in attendance. All but one of them had accepted on the spot and that one had declined only because she had just accepted a marriage proposal over Christmas. "Oh yeah, Point Break isn't going to know what hit him," he said as he rubbed his hands together.

"What did you do?" He spun at the sound of Jane's voice behind him.

"Uh, nothing."

"Please don't bullshit me; out with it, Mr. Stark."

Oh, that wasn't good. Jane had been calling him Tony for nearly a month now. "I just made sure that a few lovely ladies were aware that Thor is single. I mean, now that…um."

"Now that he is? It's okay, I'm fine with it; he did us both a huge favor. "

"Okaaay. You're not mad?"

"I didn't say that. Tony, Thor's a big boy, he can take care of his own hook ups."

"Hey, I didn't set him up with anyone; I just let everyone know he was single. Hooking up is _totally_ up to him and any interested party."

She stared at him; it was seriously reminiscent of his mother's knowing look and was starting to make him squirm when she finally let up. "Fine; but if I catch one hint that you're the architect of a set up, I'm going to be all over you like white on rice. Got it?"

"Got it." He watched as the astrophysicist stomped inside. "Jarvis, warn me when I'm gleefully celebrating and someone's coming," he said as he headed inside to escape the wintry cold.

"Yes, sir. Sir? Prince Loki is awaiting you in your workshop."

"What? How the hell did his Royal Fastidiousness get into my damn workshop?" He veered from the kitchen and got into the elevator.

"I believe he used his magic, sir."

No shit. "That was rhetorical, J…come on, you know better."

"Apologies sir, you are correct."

"Damn right I'm correct." He left the elevator and headed for the sealed doors to his workshop. Activating the voiceprint, retinal scan and fingerprint scan required to open the locks he forced himself to casually saunter in. "So tell me, what good is the best security on the planet if you can just pop in here by twitching your nose?"

Loki frowned at him. "I did no nose twitching."

"Fine, folding your arms across your chest and nodding your head while blinking, then."

"Stark, what are you babbling about?"

"You used your magic to violate my privacy; that's an inappropriate use of power, Bambi. Do you want your mojo locked down again? Shit, after what everyone went through for you to get it back, yet?"

The Lokester looked truly bewildered. "I-looking for you in your workshop, where you spend most of your time, I might add, is considered a violation of your privacy? I don't understand."

Tony sighed. "The doors were locked. That meant I didn't want anyone in here."

"I did not know the doors were locked until you said so. My location shifting magic does not tell me when doors are locked or unlocked; it simply takes me where I wish to go."

Okay, that might be a point. But still…huh. "Fine, you get one pass. Does your magic tell you if I'm down here?" The god's expression closed off and he looked uncomfortable. "Come on, yes or no?"

One disgusted expression later, Loki finally answered. "No; when you're in here I cannot even tell if you're in the building."

"What? Not all-powerful? And why only then?"

"You, of all people should know the difference between being powerful and being all-powerful. The equipment in this room masks the output from your device," he said, tapping Tony's arc reactor. "I could not sense you elsewhere in the building, so I assumed you were here as you had no plans to go out."

"Huh. I stepped out on the deck after making some phone calls. I needed some air."

The green eyes narrowed. "Therefore you were not in the building for my mojo, as you call it, to find. I searched for you here for two reasons. First, you're more often here than not when I cannot locate you elsewhere in the building. Second, Kara does not like your workshop as the energies in the air throw her off balance."

"Next time, just ask Jarvis where I am. If I'm not here, I don't want anyone in here, got it?"

"Fine," was his sullen response, "but that would tell Kara that I wished a private word with you and she would demand to know why."

The plot thickened. He turned and grabbed a stool and shoved it over to Loki and took another for himself. "Jarvis, run the security lockdown."

"Engaged, sir."

"Now, what do you not want Kara to know?"

Loki sat down on the stool. "It is not so much that I don't want her to know as it is I don't want Thor to know. The fewer who do know the details of Operation Rebound the less likely word will get back to him."

"Wait, this is all about setting Thor up; not about some deep dark plot?"

"Really, Anthony? Do you still…" he trailed off as Tony raised a hand.

"Yeah, sorry. That was out of line. So, what's up?"

"I'm certain you are taking steps to ensure Thor, ah…"

"Gets laid. Two syllables, not difficult to pronounce."

Now that was a sour look. "Finds companionship, preferably with bed sports," Loki insisted.

"Yeah, I took the liberty of making certain that a number of single women who had been invited to the bash and hadn't accepted the invite knew that he was unattached. So?"

"That is a good first step."

"That's the only step. Jane caught wind of it and not so subtly threatened me. If I try to actually instigate setting him up, she'll…well, I'm not certain what she'll do, but I really don't want to find out."

"Coward. She's a scientist; not even as good a one as you. What could she do to you?"

"Thanks for the backwards compliment. She could rat me out to Pepper who could make me couch man."

"Ah. So close to your nuptials, that would be problematic."

"Yeah, I really don't look good with blue balls…aaannnnd that was one of those sayings. It means being denied sexual release for a long period of time. It's got nothing to do with your Jötunn heritage."

"Understood; such as when you say things are 'cool' or tell someone to 'chill', correct?"

"Exactly." Loki nodded. Phew. At least he'd caught that one before the god decided he needed another round of mischief targeted at him as payback. "So, if anyone is going to facilitate the hook up, it can't be me as I promised I was only inviting single ladies and that any hooking up was totally in the control of Thor and the woman in question."

"I thought Pepper approved of this plan."

"She does, but if I break a promise, I'm in deep shit."

"Ah. So, perhaps we should bring…no, I should encourage our ladies to handle this part of the operation. After all, bumbling fools such as us could never handle such with the delicacy it requires." Loki stared him down with an innocent look, completed with eyelash batting that had Tony going for the better part of two seconds.

"Yep, but lay off the eyelash thing. You'll give it away. Our girls are pretty damn sharp."

The trickster chuckled. "I know it. Actually, I shall use it, just to let Kara know that I intend for her to recognize that I'm being underhanded. Else she will feel the intent and be contrary just for the sake of such." He frowned thoughtfully. "Perhaps you could prepare a file of the single women on the guest list for them to peruse so that they may focus their wiles wisely."

"That, I can do. Oh, and try shifting to the hall just outside my workshop. The wall _is _transparent."

… …

"You look spectacular," Bruce told her. Darcy managed a smile. "The dress is nice, too, but you just…shine," he said as they wandered through the huge ballroom where Stark Industries New Year's Eve Extravaganza was being held.

She looked into his dark brown eyes, trying to see if he was just trying to score points or what. Gawd, how did he manage that totally sincere, warm, wonderful…aw, crap. "Thanks. Um, you want to dance?"

He grinned. "How could I turn down such an enthusiastic invitation?" The grin widened as she swatted him playfully. "I'd love to, Darcy." The music was Blues influenced and the slow beat of the current number was perfect for holding your partner close and swaying comfortably. "So, tonight's the big night, hmm? Natasha gets her official introduction?"

"Yeah, she's not going to be able to do undercover stuff anymore anyway; not with a baby to worry about, so it's time. She's a little pissed at the fact that the first thing anyone's going to think about is that she's the first Avenger to have a baby."

"Hmm. Technically, Loki was the first to be a parent; though that was about seven hundred years or so ago. Probably doesn't count."

"He wasn't the one who was pregnant, despite what the mythology says. Oh, crap. I forgot to ask him if he'll talk to the grad students studying Norse mythology and set them straight on a few things. Geez, having him and Thor surface and all is knocking that entire field on its collective ear. According to mythology, Loki was a sworn blood brother to Odin, not his son, adopted or otherwise."

"Not my field of interest. Now ask me about Greek mythology and I can talk gods. Those stories beat out soap operas any day. Brothers marrying sisters is the least of it and seems more the rule than the exception for them."

"Maybe none of that is any truer than Loki giving birth to a horse."

"I wouldn't be surprised." They danced quietly for a while. Darcy smiled as she realized just how comfortable she felt in Bruce's arms. She rested her cheek against his shoulder. "You okay?" he asked.

"More than okay. I-I talked to Kara…a lot."

"Oh?"

"And Loki. Did you know that before he found out that Odin was marrying them that he planned to come back here once he was freed, assuming she was still alive, and spend however much time she had left in her lifetime loving her?"

"No, I didn't. Guess he'd realized he truly loved her."

"Yep. Of course, he could have used illusion to pretend he was getting old too. You can't do that."

Bruce nodded and brushed a soft kiss against her forehead. "I'd let Loki put one on me, though, if it would make you feel better. Assuming, of course, that Eir is right and I don't age appreciably for a long enough time for it to matter."

"Really? You'd pretend to get old just so I wouldn't be getting old alone?"

"In a heartbeat, Darcy; I love you, and I want to have you in my arms for the rest of our mutual lives." He shook his head and made a cute huffing sound. "I didn't think I deserved to be loved; didn't think that I could find a woman who wouldn't be too afraid of my other to chance loving me."

Damn it, she was tearing up again. That sucked the big one. Huh. Bruce was pretty much the only person that affected her that strongly. "The Hulk is a teddy bear when it comes to innocent people. When you lost it at that trade meeting the first thing you or he did was pick me up, fairly gently, mind you, and put me over in a corner and turned a table over in front of me so I'd be safe. _Then_ you turned around and roared at them. Volstagg almost wet himself laughing. I don't think he even stopped laughing when you kind of casually swung at him and sent him flying into the wall."

"Uh, he, we don't like being laughed at."

"That's the point. He wasn't laughing at you; he was laughing at how much control you had in that state that you could make sure I was safe before going after the assholes that pissed you off." She smirked up at him. "You had just gotten done giving them the whole 'don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry' speech and warned them you had no real control when you changed."

"Interesting. I half remember it. Sometimes my non-Hulk mind isn't totally buried. I have been able to kind of talk to that part of my subconscious that's emerged and remind it that certain people are friends and that we need to help them."

"See? You've got a hell of a lot more control than you think. And you still looked at me like I was the most precious person in the world after you changed."

Bruce's crooked grin tugged at her heart. "You _are _the most precious person in this world or any other, Darce; at least to me."

Shit, the tears were back. "I-I know," she whispered.

… …

Thor sighed. "I should not have come," he said, quietly, for once.

"Nonsense. There are people to talk to, beautiful women to admire, fine food to savor. Relax and enjoy yourself," Loki insisted.

His brother sighed again and meandered aimlessly through the crowd. "He's not getting with the program," Kara muttered.

"Yes, well, you have yet to implement said program."

"We decided Pepper had to do it. I don't know these people so I have no excuse to be introducing them to anyone let alone Thor. She's the official CEO, so that makes her the hostess and it's her responsibility to make sure her guests mingle with the Avengers."

"Ah, wise move." He looked across the room where Thor sulkily picked at offerings from the buffet. "I swear; he is worse than I am." Giving his wife a sidelong glance, he waited for her to argue the point.

"Easily," she agreed, much to his surprise. "You'd at least _seem_ to be having a good time just to spite everyone, not acting like a child being forced to clean his room or whatever unpleasant chore they give kids in Asgard." Kara frowned as they watched a tall, lightly curved woman approach the sulking oaf. "Huh. She kind of reminds me of a female version of you. Who is she, I wonder?"

He narrowed his eyes to refine his focus to better see the woman at this distance…adding a touch of magic to augment his vision. "She seems to be as cat-like as you've described me," he mused. "And she does have green eyes and black hair. Otherwise, no."

"Midgard to Loki; do you realize you just confirmed my observation?"

"Hmm, perhaps."

"No perhaps about it. Where's Pepper? Oh, there she is. Let's find out who tall, dark and slinky is."

… …

"Well, hello," a sultry voice purred in his ear. Thor turned to stare into green eyes framed by waves of inky black hair. He immediately looked around for Loki, relaxing as he spotted his brother and his sister by marriage in conversation with Lady Pepper. "You must be Thor; no one else here has the sheer presence you exude."

He blinked. "I am, indeed, my lady." Beautiful woman, but there was something…predatory about her.

Her red lips tightened. "My name is Selina, Selina Kyle. I'm an art…collector. I've obtained a few pieces from and for Stark Industries."

"I see. Unfortunately I have little knowledge about art," he told her apologetically.

"No, of course you don't," she said throatily as she stroked her fingers along his biceps. "You don't seem to be enjoying the festivities," she continued. "Perhaps you'd rather be elsewhere?"

"Yes, I'd rather be home in Asgard. Midgard is a wonderful place, but…"

"Missing someone there, are you?"

"My friends were otherwise occupied and could not join me for this trip. Their company would have been most welcome." The woman's mouth tightened again. Who did she remind him of?

"What a shame. You must be a bit lonely; it seems your friends here have all paired off."

Thor swallowed a groan. They had indeed. It made his loveless state more painful. He shouldn't have come. "I am happy for them," he managed. Gods, she reminded him of Amora.

… …

"Hmm. Thor's looking a bit trapped," Raj Nassar said to Dr. Foster, as the sight broke his concentration on the lovely chat they'd been having about the possibility of controlling an Einstein-Rosen bridge to Asgard from this end.

The scientist looked over toward the buffet table and frowned. "Seriously. I've never seen him at that much of a loss. Not even after I, uh…"

"After you…?"

She smiled nervously and yes, blushed. "Hit him with our truck. Uh, twice."

Raj couldn't help it, he had to laugh. "Well," he finally managed. "I managed to miss that part of the report; though he looks no worse the wear from it."

"This was back when he first arrived, when he'd been banished. I haven't done it since."

"I'm certain. Just wished to?"

Jane smiled. "No, kick him in the privates, yes. Hit him with a truck, no. Who the hell is that woman? I don't like her and it has nothing to do with her hitting on Thor."

That got Raj's attention. Jane Foster was a very good instant judge of character. She'd trusted Thor immediately, not to mention the seemingly flighty Darcy Lewis, when most people would have kept them at arm's length. There were gifts and there were gifts. Jane had wonderful intuition; it was doubtless a great help in her scientific endeavors. If she had taken an instant dislike to a woman she hadn't yet met, there was likely a good reason for it. "Let me find a colleague to send on a rescue mission."

… …

Thor frowned as the woman continued to not so subtly hint that she'd enjoy taking him off alone. He'd never thought overmuch on how to diplomatically indicate a lack of interest. He'd decided the woman wasn't Amora in disguise, Loki would have felt her magic. That made her advances no less unwelcome. "Thor, there you are!" a far more open female voice called out. Looking over Selina Kyle's strategically bared shoulder he saw a short Midgardian, perhaps Lady Darcy's age. The girl seemed to be of what his friends called 'Latin descent' and was wearing a dress the color of the wine in Selina's glass and clung to the girl's very curvy figure. "Dr. Nassar has been looking for you," she scolded, telling him without words that she was part of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Ah." He smiled at his companion. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Kyle; Dr. Nassar had requested a word earlier. I must honor that commitment."

"Of course," she replied. Her smile was gracious, but her tone was irritated.

He gratefully followed the terribly short, for an Agent, young woman as she led the way across the crowded ballroom. "Does Dr. Nassar truly seek me?" he asked once they were well out of hearing range.

The girl turned and looked up at him with a mischievous smile. "No. But he did send me to rescue you. He and Dr. Foster thought you looked trapped. I'm Agent Ramos, uh, Olivia Ramos. You know my dad, Joaquin."

"You resemble him only in coloring."

"Well, I do look like my aunt, his sister. The height or lack thereof is from my mom."

"What is your area of expertise? Surely it isn't combat?"

Her laughter rang out, it was…charming. "No, infiltration and information gathering; I can get into any computer system on the planet so long as I have direct access. Indirect access takes longer. Phil...Agent Coulson used to have me hack into Mr. Stark's system for him." Her expression sobered.

"He was a friend to you as well. I am sorry for your loss."

She shrugged. "It happens. We all know the risks." Olivia shot a troubled look at where his brother and Kara were chatting with several U.N. Ambassadors.

"Loki deeply regrets every death," he told her.

"That doesn't bring them back."

"No; and that is knowledge that will weigh on his conscience for millennia."

"Good." He frowned at her and she flushed. "I'm sorry. Phil wasn't just a coworker or even a friend; he was my mentor, the quintessential agent. I wanted to be like him."

"He was your idol." Thor sighed. "Phil died a hero's death; but he was also a man of fairness. Had he known the circumstances, I believe he would simply have stepped aside and allowed Loki to leave. You do understand that my brother had no choice?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any easier." Her eyes were downcast and her expression forlorn.

He reached out to touch her soft cheek. "No, it does not. I hope that you will try to forgive Loki for taking Phil from us too soon. I understand that it will be difficult."

… …

Olivia froze as calloused fingers lightly stroked her cheek. Oh. My. God. Thor was touching her. He was _so_ hot. Damn; and she'd spent the last five minutes basically telling him that she hated his beloved brother. Oh, smooth move, Olivia. She wondered what those calloused fingers would feel like on other parts of her anatomy. "I'll try," she promised. "Maybe you could tell me about what he was like before all of the craziness started?"

The big softy smiled. "It would be my pleasure."

"We could meet for coffee, maybe? Are you busy tomorrow?"

"I have been informed that watching football, specifically something called a rose bowl, is a requirement."

"The Rose Bowl," she corrected. "It's a big college game. And don't forget the Tournament of Roses Parade. I have a professional barista's coffee machine and a big screen TV; maybe you could come to my place for coffee and watch them with me?"

"That sounds like an excellent plan."

"Great. I've got to run, I'm due back on base in an hour." She gave him her card, well; one for her most recent cover, which was an art broker, with her address scrawled on the back and received his promise to join her at noon. Practically dancing away, Olivia came to an abrupt halt when the Prince of Darkness, aka Loki, stepped in her path. Her eyes widened as she stared up at his slight frown. "Thank you," he said.

Okay, that was unexpected. "For?"

"Rescuing my brother from that predatory female; I fear she had nefarious designs upon him."

"You think I don't?"

His head tilted to the side. "No. You have an honest energy about you. You would treat with him directly and openly, not involve him in schemes."

"Okay. Well, you're right. I like him, but I don't want anything from him."

"Good. He needs feminine companionship. But, a warning." She used every ounce of willpower to avoid rolling her eyes at his ponderous tone. "One day he will find his other half and he will forget all others. You do him a kindness; I have no wish for you to hope for more than he can give you and be hurt."

Seriously? He…wow. There went her preconceptions. "I understand. I'm kind of set on my career. There's so much I still want to accomplish and a serious relationship would get in the way." She shrugged. Sure, Thor was hot, but if she was to get involved with a man, he'd have to be local. Being the youngest recruit ever accepted in S.H.I.E.L.D. was just the beginning of the accomplishments she wanted to rack up. "You ever hear the song 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'? That's where I'm coming from at this point in my life."

Loki nodded. Huh, just a short conversation and it no longer seemed wrong to think of him by his name. "There's nothing wrong with that. Too many on this world demonize such desires for women yet encourage it in their young men. Horribly contradictory and it must be terribly frustrating."

Olivia found herself laughing, who'd have believed it? "That's for sure."

"I'll see that he gets his lazy carcass out of bed in time to keep his promise to you. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Agent Ramos." Her jaw dropped and she stared at him. "Tis no mystery; I spoke with Dr. Nassar while you rescued my brother."

"Ah, good to know. Good night then."

"Good night…Olivia. Happy New Year."

… …

"Thor, buddy," Tony Stark said as he grabbed his sleeve. "We've all got to meet the delegation from the FDNY."

"The what?"

"Fire Department of New York. As a kind of gratitude for their service to the city during the invasions, my Board invited representatives that were active on the rescue teams during both of them to the party to be acknowledged and to meet the Avengers. I'm not hearing they're thrilled that Loki's part of the team now, so we've got to tread a little lightly, or so Pepper tells me."

He digested that for a second and then frowned. "I do not think that is possible for many of us."

"Yeah, probably not."

He followed the billionaire, albeit reluctantly, to where their friends were gathered. The mortal heroes, the group from the FDNY, not the mortal members of the Avengers, were dressed in what appeared to be uniforms though they looked not practical. He didn't realize he was frowning until Kara nudged him. "Those are dress uniforms," she whispered. "They were them only for ceremonial occasions."

"Ah, my thanks." He listened with interest as the firefighters, as he was told they were called, were introduced and it was explained that they were part of the Special Operations Command units that dealt with unusual situations citywide. Two of the dozen being honored were women. He shouldn't have been surprised, Midgard's women held many positions of honor in dangerous professions. While they could do so in Asgard, only a very few chose to. One of the women was of the same race as Director Fury and seemed brusque and domineering and of much the same temperament as the director, the other was a tall blonde with eyes the color of coffee laden with cream. Her skin was lightly tanned and her smile both confident and feminine. Thor had to admire her more womanly figure and the way she held herself. Yes, all was going well until individual introductions of the Avengers commenced.

"Begging your pardon, ma'am," one of the older men interrupted Lady Pepper, belligerently despite his seemingly respectful words. "But what the holy hell is that terrorist doing with the Avengers?" he demanded as Loki was introduced. Thor didn't need to have Kara's abilities to see how deeply the words hurt his brother. Loki's posture stiffened and his face settled into hard lines.

Before Pepper could respond, the blonde firefighter intervened. "Jake, stand down. You were given the briefing. It's a form of restitution."

"It is not only that, my lady," Thor told her. "The invasion was always going to happen; my brother's actions, convincing the true enemy that he worked for them, minimized the damage and brought the Avengers together to counter the attack."

"We lost three-hundred and fifty civilians and ninety-three members of the NYPD, FDNY and National Guard. I'd hardly call that minimized."

"Compare that to the billions that would have been lost had Thanos been given the access to your world he truly desired," Loki snapped.

"It's kind of hard to see it in that perspective when you're pulling crushed children from the rubble of what used to be a day care center!"

He glanced back at his brother in time to see Loki's stricken expression. "Could I change aught and save even one of those lives, I would," he said quietly as Kara wrapped a consoling arm around his waist. "Think you it was an easy decision to sacrifice hundreds here to save billions planet-wide? It was not."

… …

Eleanor Valois stared at the dark-haired Norse god; Loki, god of Mischief. She prided herself on being the reasonable one, for keeping a cool head and here she'd gone and berated this man for something they'd all been told was not truly his fault. And then she'd gone and twisted the knife to assuage her own pain at being unable to save a group of preschoolers. His expression was broken, and she had the distinct impression that he had nightmares over the incident that made her own look like sweet daydreams. Never in her twenty-six years had she seen a man look so abjectly miserable. Her colleagues were staring at her, waiting for her response. It had taken her two years of the four she'd spent in Special Operations to be accepted into their ranks and then another two years had passed before they not only treated her as an equal, but looked up to her. They'd follow her lead on this. "No," she managed to say, knowing it was the right thing to do. "I don't suppose it was." The fire-haired woman at the god's side, she'd been introduced as Hellbringer and was the one who'd blown the big bad to smithereens, met her eyes and gave her a small approving nod.

The introductions concluded and a brief speech thanking them for their work was given and they were asked to enjoy the rest of the party. The guys had spread out, some to take advantage of the open bar, others headed for the lavish buffet. Two had stayed with her. Bill Ledbetter nudged her arm. "Do you buy that load of bullshit?" he asked.

"Yeah, strangely, I do." His gray eyes widened. "Bill, come on. You've seen it when guys are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. How many of the veterans who went into the Twin Towers perpetually wear expressions like that?"

Carlos Arroyo, the captain of the other unit that had been called to both invasions nodded agreement. He was one of those veterans. "That guy's been to hell and back. You can just tell."

"Shit," Bill muttered. "Okay, if you two are good with it, I trust your judgment. I ain't seen nothing get past both of you." He rubbed a hand through his brush cut sable hair. "I'll help keep a lid on the guys."

"Thanks, Bill. I know you've got my back." They headed off as she watched the Avengers chatting and then dispersing to their own partying. She followed the couple who were still huddled together. "Excuse me," she called out as she came up behind them. They turned and the woman smiled more broadly at her this time. "Look; I-I'm sorry. I was so far out of line you'd need a search team to find me."

"It's…understandable," Loki said. "Losing adults is difficult enough. Children are precious and should be protected at all costs. I do not know that I could have chosen a different location even had I been aware that children would be in the area, but…"

"You would have tried, huh?"

"Indeed." He glanced to the side as his bulky brother hurried back to him with grim determination on his handsome features. "Easy, brother," Loki told him. "The lady only offers her apology."

The blonde looked thunderstruck. A nearly manic urge to giggle ran through her as she remembered that Thor was the Norse god of Thunder. "That is…good. You did not deserve…"

"Yes, I did, and well you know it. These mortals risked their very vulnerable selves to save others; they deserve to understand fully that their work and sacrifice was for a reason other than greed or pride."

… …

Thor stared at the woman's chagrined expression and let the righteous anger seep away. "You understand, then, my lady?"

"Lieutenant," she corrected. "Lieutenant Eleanor Valois."

He nodded "Lieutenant."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Ah. But you have concerns, still?" he guessed.

"Well, sure."

"Thor," Loki interrupted. "Why don't you have a chat with the lieutenant? I'm certain being in my presence would simply continue to make her uncomfortable."

He eyed his brother with suspicion, but Loki's expression was sad and somewhat resigned; he did not have the innocent mien that he typically presented when he plotted aught. "Of course," he agreed. "Lieutenant? May I escort you to the buffet?"

"Sure, that would be nice."

… …

Thor turned away and Kara waited and watched. Once it was obvious that her brother-in-law was fully engaged in conversation and not about to look back at them, Loki's mischievous smile emerged. "Now he shall have the choice of two suitable women," he said smugly.

She laughed and poked him in the ribs. "Got tired of waiting for Pepper, hmm?"

"Well, yes. I'm told kissing someone romantically at the stroke of midnight is a custom of this celebration. If I allowed the evening to go on much longer he'd have small hope of that." Loki sniffed disdainfully. "He is not so experienced at seduction as he would have others believe. From what I've observed, the women have always chased him." No doubt. From what she'd heard from Jane and Darcy, Jane had kissed Thor, not visa-versa. "Besides which, I had to have some fun this night."

Her laughter spilled out again. "Oh, you are incorrigible. No wonder I love you so much." His trademark smug smirk emerged and he hugged her close. "Come on; let's go tell Pepper she's off the hook. We don't want him overwhelmed."

Loki shuddered. "That would be a problem. He is rather simple, after all."

"Naughty of you to talk about your future king like that."

He shrugged. "That is why he shall have me as his advisor." Taking her arm as they searched for their hostess, her husband seemed…happy. "One day, all will be as it should. Thor will be sitting the throne and acting the benevolent king while I am the true power in the Realm." He chuckled at her irritated huff. "No, I am not being egotistical. It is a tried and true method of running a monarchy. Thor enjoys the flash, I prefer the substance; it is a perfect combination."

"Okay, but don't share that observation with anyone else. Too many people will be thinking you've gone all megalomaniacal on us."

"Of course not, love. That is knowledge only for family." He chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Kara, our parents and Thor are well aware of how it will be, they've planned for it. Relax; we were born for our individual roles and we will play those roles well and will fulfill them together."

"Just so long as you remember it's my role to keep your mischievous butt in line and I'll play _that _role to perfection."

"You already do, my love."

… …

Tony sighed as he left the dance floor, Pepper still wrapped in one arm. After the near fiasco with the FDNY, the rest of the evening had gone perfectly. He loved it when a plan came together. Thor had spent the last hour and a half ensconced in an alcove with the blonde firefighter, Darcy and Bruce had disappeared after the big reveal of Natasha's pregnancy. The pair of former assassins was tucked in another alcove with Bird Brain dashing back and forth to the buffet for tidbits to tempt his cranky better half. Rogers was out on the dance floor with Beth again…or was that still? Every time he'd noticed them, they'd been slow dancing, even if the music wasn't right for it. Ah well. He'd chalk it up to young love, but technically Captain Spangles wasn't young. "You," he said to the love of his life, "throw a great party."

"Yes, I do," Pepper agreed. "And no one had to get drunk and blow out windows to make it exciting."

He winced at the reminder. "Not my finest hour. It's almost midnight; do I rate a kiss for the New Year?"

"You get one whether you deserve one or not. It would be all over the tabloids if you didn't get to kiss your fiancé when the ball drops," she informed him as she gestured out the window that had a decent view of Times Square's lighted ball a few blocks away.

"Aw, come on Pep, I've been good," he whined. "I even got Jane to loosen up."

She laughed. "Was that you? I was wondering who got her and Raj talking. They haven't been more than a few yards apart all night."

"Yeah, well, I am a genius."

"Romance is usually my area of expertise, but I keep getting outdone by the men tonight. Raj matched Thor up with Agent Ramos and Loki hooked him up with Lieutenant Valois and now you tell me that you set Raj up with Jane."

"Hmm, in your defense, you were busy running the entire shindig."

"True." She wrapped her arms around his neck as the crowd began gathering for the countdown. He glanced to the side and noticed that all of the Avengers' couples had emerged and were preparing to kiss. Thor had held out a hand to the blonde firefighter…Agent Ramos had left before the Avengers were introduced, but Loki had informed him that Thor had a date with that hot little number tomorrow. "Huh, you think he'll get a kiss out of the frosty blonde?"

"I found her to be a very warm person."

"So? Kiss or no kiss?"

Pepper smiled; damn he both loved and hated that smile at the same time. He heard the countdown begin around them. "Happy New Year, Tony," she said as she leaned in. The hell with whether or not Thunderpants got a kiss, he was too busy enjoying his to care.

… …

**Author's Notes:** Yes, I am aware I used a DC character. It simply had to be done. Yes, this is a long one. Because these are one-shots, they are going to be of varying lengths…however long each needs to be to tell its story. My apologies for taking so long to update; this chapter was especially problematic as while they are one-shots, I do want to keep them in chronological order. Thanks for your patience. Thanks also to MissKikkiKat for collaborating with me on the character of Eleanor Valois and to OC'specialty for creating the character of Olivia Ramos. Hope you like how they turned out!


	3. Another One Bites the Dust

"Oh my gosh; is that George Clooney?" Rogue gushed as they made their way through the crowd in front of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Washington, DC. "Wait, isn't this the National Cathedral? I didn't know they did weddings here."

"They don't, usually. Stark gave a huge donation to get an exception and the Avengers are going to have to do a special appearance in DC this spring on top of that."

"Wow. Oh, oh…who's that guy in the eye patch? He looks awful mean."

Logan glanced at the man Marie was pointing at; Nick Fury. Figured. "He is. Total a…jerk. Good at his job, though."

"What job?"

"Classified, kid. Sorry."

"Oh, geez. Come on, I'm a member of the X-Men, don't I rate?"

"You're a trainee and no, what he does ain't associated with the X-Men." The girl was practically vibrating with excitement. This was not turning out to be one of his best ideas; but when he'd visited his old team over Christmas, young Rogue had pulled out the puppy eyes and the pout and, yeah, he'd caved. Stark had been bugging him to bring someone with him and the kid was one of the few people he could tolerate for any length of time. Plus she was young enough that nobody would tease him about a relationship that didn't exist. They all knew it was more of a mentor/mentee friendship thing.

"Humph." She was quiet for a minute and he wondered if he should be worried. "Oh, wow; there's the Black Widow, she looks like she's gonna pop any second; still really pretty though."

"Yeah, but don't tell her she looks big, she'll take your head off."

"I guess that's Hawkeye with her, he's the dad, right?"

"Yep." Logan looked around to see if there was anywhere he could drag the kid off to before…oh crap. Rogue had dashed from his side and planted herself in Romanov's path.

"Hi!" she began brightly. "I'm Marie, uh; Rogue, from the X-Men. Logan brought me, you know, Wolverine?"

Luckily, the Widow was in a good mood. "Nice to meet you, Marie, I'm Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow," she said. "Logan speaks fondly of you."

"Wow, really? He's a good guy. We, me and the other trainees, we miss him a lot."

"Is that so?" Romanov's eyes glinted as she caught his. "Hmm, they say you can't fool kids or animals. He must be a softy under that gruff exterior." Crap, now he was going to get all kinds of hell over it.

"Well, he's tough with us, but ya know, he respects us. Doesn't talk down to us and makes sure we know it when we're doing a good job."

"Nice to hear. Have you met Clint?" she asked and Barton's eyes widened in terror. Logan tried not to snort out loud at the man's trapped expression. "Best archer and long distance weapons marksman in the business."

"Oh, yeah, you're the Hawkeye." Kid was still gushing, geez.

"Yeah." Hawkeye offered his hand after receiving an elbow in his side. "Nice to meet you. Uh, Nat, we've got to get in there so you can sit down before the crowd heads in, right?"

"Yes, we do. I'm sure we'll see you later, Marie."

"Oh, yeah, totally!" Rogue grabbed his arm as the couple left. "She's so cool! Wow, do you think I could be like her?"

Damn, he hoped not. "I think you'll be a much better woman, Rogue. You like people more."

"Oh, but she was so nice."

"That's just her public, off duty face. Trust me, she's hell on wheels."

Marie's face fell. "Oh." They were able to get a few more yards through the crush when she brightened. "Oh, oh wow, there's Loki!" He glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, Loki and Kara were making their way slowly through the crowd. Fortunately the people within the cordon were all either celebrities, personal friends of Stark and Pepper, or business associates, so the pair wasn't being totally mobbed. The god's pleasant expression looked strained, though. Marie pulled away from him and headed their way. Definitely not one of his better ideas. "Hello!" she sang out as she reached them.

Loki's eyebrows lifted but Kara managed to smile back at the kid. She probably felt Rogue's happiness and enthusiasm. Kara looked past the girl and nodded at him before speaking. "You must be Marie," she said.

Rogue's eyes widened. "I surely am; how did y'all know that?"

"Logan just came up behind you wearing a thundercloud as an expression," Loki said wryly. "I imagine he thinks I'll rip your head off for accosting us or some such nonsense."

"Oh. You wouldn't do anything like that," she said confidently.

"No, I'd end up back in Asgard, headed for the dungeons this time." Rogue's jaw dropped and Loki winked at her. "I meant verbally, my dear. I'm rather known for making acerbic comments to those who annoy me."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to annoy you."

The eyebrows shot back up. "I'm not annoyed, though I expect Logan thought I would be." He leaned down to murmur in the kid's ear. "I do annoy easily, you see; possibly more easily than the Wolverine."

"That's definitely easy," she said with a chuckle.

"Hey, I'm right here." Damn kid.

"Aw, Logan. You know I adore you."

"Are you enjoying yourself, Marie?" Loki asked. Bastard was practically oozing charm and the kid was eating it up.

"Oh yeah, it's great. There's so many famous people and lordy, the clothes! Did you see the dress Beyoncé_ almost has on? Do you think she glues it down so she doesn't have an accident with it?" She didn't give either of them a chance to respond before starting up again. "Your outfits are way nicer. I love that suit, it's very elegant. How come you're not in Asgardian clothes?" _

_"We're trying not to take away attention from the bride and groom. This is their day," Kara told her. Loki was looking kinda shell-shocked by Rogue's non-stop chatter. "Besides, Asgardian formal wear is uncomfortable as all he-eck, at least for me." _

_"Oh, but it's so pretty, I loved the dress you wore to your engage…oh. I guess that's a bad subject considerin' what happened an' all." _

_"No, it's fine," Loki managed, the charming smile reestablished. "We were truly bored to tears by the whole thing before I was betrayed." _

_"Sometimes boring is a good thing," Kara muttered. _

_"Why aren't you wearing coats? Aren't you cold?" _

_"She is so precious, Logan," Loki said to him. The god's voice had an edge to it, so he took it as a sign to get the kid away from them. "Absolutely darl…"_

_"Whoa, don't touch her," he said, thrusting himself between Loki's outstretched hand and Rogue's cheek. _

_Loki's green eyes narrowed. "I wasn't going to hurt her. What kind of cad do you think…?"_

_"No, that's not it," Marie said, peering around him. "He was afraid I'd hurt you."_

_"What? Is that true?"_

_"Rogue absorbs other people's powers and even life force through skin to skin contact. She can't choose not to do it, it just happens. So far I'm the only person she's been able to touch at all without draining dangerously because my original mutation is to heal pretty much instantly. Don't know what would happen to your mojo if she touched you."_

_"I-I see. Thank you, then." _

_"Didn't do it for you. I don't want her traumatized by hurting someone accidentally. She's had that enough in her young life." _

_"Marie?" Kara said. "If you'd like to talk about that some time, we can get together. I hurt people… more than hurt them, when I came into my ability. It was pretty awful, but I've learned to deal with it." _

_"Sure, that would be great. Logan can give me your number, right?"_

_"Right," he agreed. "Let's get inside, it's gonna start pretty soon."_

_"It is indeed, assuming Anthony doesn't get cold feet."_

_Logan frowned. "You calling him Anthony again? What did he do now?" _

_"Apparently he's decided I resemble a fictional character called Data, whom I believe was an android. I am not amused." _

_He had no idea who that was, but he guessed Rogue did because the kid was stifling a giggle. "Oh, no, sugah, you don't look like Data. Well, except for the slicked back hair and being lean and all. Data is kind of funky looking and expressionless. You're real handsome." _

_"Ah, thank you. Now, we'd best get to our seats. Hmm, my brother is waving impatiently at us; we must be holding things up." _

_Most of the guests had wandered inside already. "Let's go, Rogue."_

_She gave him a sunny smile. "You got it!" _

_… … _

_Thor had vanished by the time they'd reached the sanctuary. They took seats several rows back from Logan and his protégé; Loki frowned at the back of young Rogue's head. "Perhaps we should do a controlled experiment with…"_

_"No, absolutely not," his lady interrupted. "We don't know what absorbing the kind of energy we hold would do to her. I'm not willing to risk her to satisfy your curiosity." _

_He sighed. "You're no fun."_

_"That's not what you said in bed this morning." _

_No, it wasn't. They'd had a glorious morning of sensual play before Kara had informed him that they needed to start getting ready for the wedding. "That's different," he decided. _

_"Uh huh. Now hush. Pepper's mom was just seated, that means they're ready to start." _

_"How do you know these…?" he broke off at her glare. "Fine," he whispered and sat back to watch the proceedings. Mrs. Potts had indeed been seated. Her ginger hair was mostly silver, but she was otherwise still rather youthful for a mortal of her age. A slightly younger couple sat with her, Pepper's aunt and uncle if he remembered correctly. Judging by the hair color alone, the uncle was Mrs. Potts' brother. Yes, they'd been introduced at the rehearsal dinner, but he'd been too bored to note any details. Why they'd had to attend the foolish thing when they weren't part of the ceremony had been beyond him. _

_Kara was frowning at him. "You didn't listen at all last night, did you?" she asked softly and then sighed when he shrugged. "Patrick O'Brien, Mrs. Potts' brother and his second wife Rebecca. Their two daughters Rachel and Stephanie are Pepper's maid of honor and one of her bridesmaids." _

_He sighed. Darcy and Bethany were also serving as bridesmaids while Bruce and Steven served as groomsmen. Tony had been unhappy about not including Kara and him, but had finally agreed that the media would put too much focus on the gods and neglect the bride and groom. Thor dropped down in the seat beside him after settling S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Olivia Ramos, one of the two Midgardian ladies he was seeing, in the aisle seat. It was no mystery why Olivia had accompanied his brother. Eleanor Valois couldn't get away from her duties as a FDNY Lieutenant for three days, while Director Fury was more than pleased to have an Agent in the thick of things. "Where have you been?" he asked his flustered brother. _

_"We were waylaid by Director Fury," he muttered in disgust. "This is a day of celebration, not one of giving diplomatic reports of goings on in Asgard." _

"My sympathies," he replied. Indeed, Fury was taking advantage of the involvement.

"Both of you gripe later," Kara hissed as Tony and Rhodey stepped out of an alcove and stood at the front of the gathering. "It's starting."

An annoying swell of music began. It wasn't the bridal march; that he had familiarized himself with as it would be used in his and Kara's Midgardian wedding a few months hence. A young woman of rather average appearance with dull straw-colored locks took measured steps down the aisle. Judging by the hue of her gown, a pale rose, she must be Stephanie. A young man he'd been told was the girl's husband accompanied her. Following at a distance was Bethany. Her pale blonde hair was far more vibrant, and her smile as she glanced up at Steven made her beautiful. For his part, Rogers looked uncomfortable in his tuxedo, even more so than Banner. Actually, the doctor looked more resigned than uncomfortable. Darcy had a tense expression; interesting as he'd thought they'd reconciled.

"Wow, I didn't think rose pink would look good on her," Kara whispered.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked in response. The brunette was absolutely stunning. Her full lips were colored a deep burgundy and her bosom took the dress from mundane to spectacular. There was something different…ah, she was no longer wearing her glasses and her eyes didn't have the flat look that the contact lenses had given her previously. "Is she no longer correcting her vision?" he had to ask.

Kara shrugged but Thor frowned at him. "Eir healed her eyesight, I told you this," he rumbled, albeit quietly for once.

"You did no such thing," he insisted.

"I told you, both of you."

"Um, Thor? No, you didn't. Maybe you told Tony and Pepper?" Kara suggested.

His brother frowned. "Mayhap."

Loki repressed a sigh and turned back to the proceedings. A woman walked alone down the aisle now; this one wearing a deeper shade, still of rose. Her hair was a mousey brown and her nose a trifle large. Pepper had certainly been gifted with all of beauty, such as it was, in the family. He favored his own lady with a smug smile. Her looks eclipsed all of them. She glanced away from the procession and frowned at him. "What's with the self-congratulations?" she whispered.

His smile widened. "I have the most beautiful woman in the world at my side, why shouldn't I congratulate myself?"

Apparently becoming Æsir did not remove her propensity to blush. "I'm not," she told him. "Not even now; but thank you. Besides, on her wedding day the bride is the most beautiful woman in the world, even when she's not. It's a rule."

"Foolish mortal rule," he whispered against her ear and then nipped the edge of it playfully. She shivered and he couldn't help smiling even more.

"Stop that," she insisted as the music of the bridal march swelled. "Here comes the bride."

… …

Tony shifted from one foot to the other. What the hell was he doing? Crap. He could feel a cold sweat breaking out, mostly on the palms of his hands, but a bit on the back of his neck too. "Easy, slugger," Rhodey whispered. "You can do this. It's Pepper, your best friend, your confidante, the one person who has always wanted the best for you. Well, buddy, now you're getting it."

"She's too good for me," he muttered under his breath.

"Hey, all women are too good for the men they love. That's not the point. She loves you and you'll be the best you that you can be for her, right?"

Okay, yeah, he could do that. "Right." He straightened and shifted his shoulders back and stared at the absolutely elegant vision that approached him. "Damn, she's beautiful. How did I get so fucking lucky?"

Rhodey chuckled quietly in his ear. "You're Tony fucking Stark, how else?"

His mouth twitched. "Now I know you're just trying to make me smile. You never use that word."

"I'm in the military, Tony. Trust me, I use it. But it has more impact if you use it sparingly; something to keep in mind."

"Yeah, yeah." He smiled, however nervously, as Pepper joined him in front of the Supreme Court Associate Justice who would perform the ceremony. "Last chance to run for the hills," he said to her.

She gave him her patented Virginia Pepper Potts serene smile, the one that never failed to drive him totally insane. It was kind of reassuring. She'd been giving him that same smile for a decade now, and as his wife, she'd be giving it to him for decades to come. "I'm where I want to be, Tony. Aren't you?"

Oh, low blow. Well, not that low considering his behavior over the years. "Yeah, I really am. Guess I finally earned that reputation for being a genius."

Her smile bloomed as the justice cleared her throat. They all turned to face the woman. Elena Kagan smiled at the gathering. "Justice Ginsberg took the honor of being the first Supreme Court Justice to marry a same sex couple; that is hard to top. Still, officiating over the event that takes the world's most eligible bachelor off the market must count for something."

Their guests laughed and Tony shot Pepper a quick smile. Pepper had chosen the woman to officiate based on an acquaintance formed when Justice Kagan was the Dean of Law at Harvard and Pepper was there studying for her MBA. "Sounds like an accomplishment to me," he agreed.

The justice winked at him. "Friends," she continued. "We are here today to join Anthony Edward Stark and Virginia Potts in matrimony. It has been a long hard road that has brought them here; they have endured much, both physically, mentally and emotionally that has tested their love and commitment to each other, yet here they are. That gives hope that their marriage will stand the test of time." She looked back at them. "I believe you each have personal vows you wish to make?" He nodded and heard Pepper murmur agreement. "It's traditional," she said the word wryly. "That the groom make his pledge first, so Mr. Stark, if you would?"

He swallowed and turned to his beautiful fiancé and took her hands in his. "Virginia…ah, I can't call you that, not even here. You'll always be Pepper to me. You have been my assistant, my friend, my lover. You know me better than anybody alive and yet here you are, ready to spend the rest of your life with me. Instead of questioning your sanity, which, you know, is in doubt, I am just going to be grateful." Outright laughter swept through the room. Pepper had her lips pressed tightly together and her eyes danced with suppressed humor, good. "While my actions may not have always shown it, my heart knew that you were the only woman for me. I love you, more than I can ever express, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do with the rest of my life than spend it as your husband. I pledge to love you, to honor you, to cherish you, and to always put you first. That means you come before my workshop, you come before my company, you come before being Iron Man, and you come before anyone or anything in this or any other Realm." A chorus of 'aws' resounded.

… …

Pepper blinked back tears. Tony didn't get mushy often, but when he did, oh my. Justice Kagan was nodding at her expectantly. "Oh, sorry." She looked back at Tony and grinned as a fleeting urge to tell him she'd changed her mind arose. But no, she couldn't be that cruel, even as a joke. "Tony," she said. "We've been through so much together, and I'll admit, from time to time I've just wanted to get as far away from the craziness as I could. But I still always loved you, no matter what. You've made promises to me and I will hold you to them, but I also have some promises for you. I will always love you. I will always understand when your mind goes off in tangents; that's how you think best. I'll remember that the first thing out of your mouth isn't always what you really mean, so I'll be forgiving of it. Finally, I will nag you, today and every day, to take care of yourself, to be healthy, to stay as safe as possible under whatever circumstance you happen to be in. I'll do this because I love you and want to have as long and healthy a life as possible with you."

"Let's get down to the nitty-gritty, shall we?" the justice asked. "Anthony, do you take Virginia to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish her, so long as you both live?"

Tony nodded and then seemed to remember he had to actually speak. "I do, absolutely."

"Virginia, do you take Anthony to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish him, so long as you both live?"

A tear tracked down her cheek; it was overwhelming that this was finally happening. "Yes, I do."

"May we have the rings?" They waited as Rhodey and Rachel produced the wedding bands they'd chosen and handed them to Justice Kagan. She held one out to Tony. "I think you know what to do here," he was told.

He held out his calloused left hand and she gave him her soft one. Even without his armor, her Tony was always strong and capable, and God knew, she loved him so much. He carefully slid the ring on her ring finger. "With this ring, I thee wed," he managed with a slight crack in his voice that made her smile.

Blinking back tears of joy she reached out to take the matching band the justice was holding out for her. Tony was looking at her and the absolute awe in his expression reassured her more than any words that she was doing the right thing; that he'd keep every promise he'd made to the best of his ability. She bit her bottom lip as the thought crossed her mind that if he didn't, she'd sic a god or two on him. "With this ring, I thee wed," she managed to say with only the tiniest waver.

"By the power vested in me by the government of these United States of America, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

… …

Wow. Just…wow. Steve couldn't believe it. Tony Stark, the sarcastic, self-proclaimed playboy was married. And he looked so happy about it. Beth, across the way, was crying unashamedly. Beth, wow. He found himself daydreaming, just a little, imagining her in the white gown saying 'I do' to him. Bruce nudged him, breaking him from his reverie. Tony and Pepper were striding down the aisle, arm in arm and the rest of the party was forming up behind them. He took Beth's hand and tucked it on his arm. "You okay?" he whispered and handed her the brand new handkerchief that Kara had insisted he carry.

She dabbed at her eyes. "Yeah, thanks. That was just so…"

"Sweet. Yep, sure was. Who'd have thought Tony had it in him?" He grinned at her giggle. "We're supposed to be in the receiving line at the reception, you up for that?"

"Sure, what a chore, meeting all those celebrities."

It was a chore, for him, anyway. He looked around the large hall. "I just hope not everyone here is going, otherwise it's going to take hours."

"Rats, I didn't even think about that." She nodded to Bruce and Darcy who were just ahead of them as the wedding party processed in reverse to leave the church. "How's Bruce going to manage?"

He gulped. "Uh…that's a real good question." Steve was still pondering that question when they joined Darcy and Bruce in the limo that would take them to Kennedy Center for the reception.

Bruce's eyebrows rose when he was asked about it. "Didn't Pepper give you the option to sit that one out?"

"Um, no."

"I'm sorry. I guess Captain America doesn't get a break." Bruce's voice was a heck of a lot more sympathetic than his expression. "Darcy and I will be in charge of entertaining the super-VIPs in the Chinese Lounge until Tony and Pepper finish greeting the bulk of the guests. Then they'll go join the rest of the guests in the South Gallery for dinner."

"Super-VIPs?"

Darcy snickered. "Yeah, they trust me with royalty and heads of state, can you believe it?"

"Honey, you were great on Asgard. You should have seen her in action, Steve. She firmly sweet-talked all of the diplomats into cooperating and respecting each other's opportunities to present their points of view, it was amazing."

"I can believe it, Darcy's more than a smart mouth, she's just smart, period."

"That's kind of a funky compliment," Darcy told him. "But I'll take it."

Beth laughed and then patted his knee. "He didn't mean it like it sounded, really." He frowned at her. "Steve, telling someone they have a smart mouth is kind of insulting."

"Oh, no. That's not what I meant, really."

"It's okay, I got that." Darcy gave him a Loki-worthy smirk. "Besides, I've worked hard on my rep for sass. It's nice to know it's the first thing people think of about me."

"Definitely not the first thing I think of," Bruce murmured.

"Sure hope not," Darcy agreed. Steve decided to leave that one alone.

… …

"Wait, why are we joining the heads of state?" Kara asked as they were escorted to what they were told was the Chinese Lounge.

"We represent the Royal House of Asgard, my sister," Thor rumbled.

"Humph. You're the Crown Prince, you represent them."

"Sorry, Love," Loki told her. "Younger siblings get meet and greet duty, remember?" He chuckled at her disgruntled took. "Besides which, I am the Crown Prince of Jötunheim, so we're representing two Realms."

"Damn. So when is Helblindi getting married? He really needs to get a different heir."

"Not for another few months. You can encourage him to hurry that process along when we visit for his Name Day celebration." She grumbled under her breath until he shook his head. "Leave off, Kara. You can amuse yourself by discussing the guests with Darcy. I'm told she's all but mastered the Æsir tongue and you've been doing quite well with it."

"There is that. It's kind of cool being able to speak what amounts to a secret language."

"Does Mr. Stark have a copy of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s translation software?" Olivia asked.

Kara frowned at the girl. "I think he has his own. Hasn't he asked you to call him Tony?"

"He has, and I'll call him Tony when he stops calling me Agent."

"Good luck with that," Loki offered. "I believe the man is inherently incapable of using a person's correct given name."

"That's not true. He just finds it boring; you know how hard it is for him to not go off on tangents, that's because he has ADD." Loki's eyebrows rose in question. "Attention Deficit Disorder," she clarified. "People don't hold his interest unless he forces himself to concentrate on them by thinking up nicknames."

Olivia's eyes widened. "If he has ADD, how does he complete complex projects?"

"Ah ha. That's the billion dollar question. His ADD is balanced by OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," she explained for Loki and Thor's benefit. "Which is why he's considered high-functioning; he reserves the OCD for the tech so everything else is subjected to the ADD. He'd make a hell of a case study if I had a deep interest in those aspects of my field."

"So by forcing him to use my name, I'm causing him to have less interest in talking to me? I haven't seen such."

"No, because he knows if he doesn't concentrate on you and messes up and uses his nicknames, he'll have to watch out for consequences. You're forcing his attention in a different way."

"I need to study this further," Loki muttered. "Who would have guessed that mortal minds are so complex? Your book did not go into this."

"I have dozens of basic psychology books and you've only read the one. I think once you got to the section on reverse psychology, you lost interest in the rest."

"Perhaps," he admitted sulkily.

"Um, I did have a reason for asking about the translation software," Olivia pointed out.

"Sorry about that." Kara gave the agent an apologetic smile. "What was the reason?"

"I thought you might want to test and see if our software can translate that language before you go and use it around the base or one of us so that you don't think something's private that isn't."

"It's not necessary, Olivia. If I do not wish them to know what we're saying, I'll isolate our speech magically."

"You are the only one who can do that, brother," Thor muttered.

Loki gave him a patient look. "Thor, would you be tempted to speak in that tongue when I am not present?" Thor's jaw dropped as the point sunk in. "Exactly. Come along, now. Darcy and Dr. Banner seem to be a bit overwhelmed."

… …

An hour and a half; that's how long they'd been standing there, smiling, nodding, thanking guests for joining them, shaking hands and all of that crap that he hated most in the world. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that his wi-wi-wi-wi… Ahem…Wi-wi…crap…WIFE was standing next to him. He was married. Honest injun, as real as it can get, married. Tony swallowed and wished heartily for a drink. Or several. Pepper was looking at him now, her eyes narrowed. "Only about a dozen more," she said quietly. "You can make it. Darcy is going to have a full glass of your favorite Scotch waiting for you in the VIP room."

He flashed his best grateful puppy dog eyes look. "Damn, I love you."

"I know."

It was all good, or would be. Several of his bachelor pals had shaken their heads in mock disbelief when they'd come through the line. Clooney had gotten in the best shot at him until he'd given it right back by pointing out that Pepper had married him for love because she already had control of both his company and his fortune. Since at least one of the actor/director/activist's recent squeezes had taken off when she realized she'd never get her hands on George's portfolio, it was one hell of a point. Ah, a happily together couple who wasn't married yet was coming through the line. "Come on, Brad," he said. "You've popped the question, when are you two going to do the deed?"

The blonde actor gave his trademark open smile…the one that actually hid everything the sly dog was really thinking. "What makes you think we haven't? We're not all publicity hounds, Tony." Brad looked at Pepper. "I'd congratulate you, but I know this guy too well. If he gets to be too rowdy, come visit us. I think our house full of kids would be a quiet haven in comparison."

"Ouch."

Pepper laughed as she accepted a hug from Brad's fiancé…or maybe wife? "Our primary residence has more overgrown kids than you have actual ones," she said. "So I'm sure yours would be much more peaceful. And that's not even taking into account that we'll be adding Natasha's baby to the mix in a few months."

"Who designed your dress, Virginia? It's amazing," Angelina asked.

"The designer is Aleixandre Bailey, out of Greenwich Village. He's doing Kara's dress as well. He also has an exotic collection of evening wear, you should check it out."

"I'll call your office for his contact info, thanks."

"Tony, not a word," Pepper warned as he opened his mouth to make a comment about the designer's flakiness. He sighed. "I'll make it up to you later," she whispered.

"I'll hold you to that."

… …

Loki found that he remembered a number of the VIPs from their engagement ball. Not that they were particularly noteworthy; it was simply that the details of that evening were firmly etched into his subconscious. Kara frowned up at him as he reflexively squeezed her hand. "Sorry, love."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm afraid these people are associated with…"

"Ah. Bad memories; got it." She stopped and stretched up to press a kiss at the corner of his mouth. "Let's talk to people so you can associate them with more than being betrayed, okay?"

"If you insist…and I know that you do."

"Smart man." Kara stopped them next to two men, one a bit older than Kara and a man about her age. "Hello," she said to them. "We're so glad you were able to make it back for Tony's wedding." Before they could respond she'd turned back to him. "Loki, I know the introductions went a bit fast before. This is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and this gentleman is his brother, Prince Henry of Wales; Prince Henry is active in the United Kingdom's military and is addressed there as Captain Wales. He's an excellent marksman and is responsible for the injuries to the pair of Chitauri who grabbed you. That's probably what slowed them down enough for Colonel Rhodes to catch up and get through the gate with you."

"Then I owe you greatly, your highness," Loki said, "as do we all. If Colonel Rhodes had not made it through with me, I may not have survived long enough to lure the enemy back here so that he could be stopped so thoroughly."

"It was my pleasure to put a few rounds into those cretins," the younger prince said. "We're certainly glad you made it back in one piece this time."

"As are we; Kara was quite put out with the enemy for interrupting her celebration. He paid dearly for it." The two men chuckled.

"We saw the film. That was brilliant," Prince William said. "We'd been a bit concerned; our advisors had been told the enemy was virtually indestructible, that he could not die."

"He cannot." They stared at him, expressions slightly shocked. "He still lives, if you can call having your pieces scattered across the galaxy being alive."

"That's…horrifying," Prince William said.

"It's well deserved. He'd destroyed not just the bodies but the souls of millions."

"Good job then," the younger prince muttered.

Loki found himself liking the young man. "So we thought."

… …

Darcy ran up to them as they entered the Chinese Lounge and thrust a tumbler full of amber liquid into her new husband's eager hands. "Bless you, cupcake," he breathed.

"Cupcake? Seriously?"

"I could come up with something worse."

"True, that."

"Any problems up here?" Pepper asked her bridesmaid.

"Nope. Everyone's been cool. Our own personal royals got here a few minutes after the VIPs and they were making the rounds until Thor took off with Olivia a few minutes ago. I guess Fury called her for something. Anyway, the whole room's buzzing with how charming a couple Kara and Loki are. You'd never know from the chatter that a few months ago the world thought Loki was a megalomaniacal psychopath hell-bent on world domination."

"They were half right," Tony grumbled and she swatted him.

"Tony! He's your friend, that's a terrible thing to say."

"Why? He calls me a narcissistic megalomaniac."

"Why is the phrase 'if the shoe fits' running through my head?" Darcy asked. The brunette raised her hands when they both stared at her. "Hey, both of them are full of it; it's just that Tony and Loki have different brands of crazy. It's no wonder they get along so well."

"True. And they're both charming in their own way. How is Bruce holding out?" She looked around for the scientist and spotted him chatting with Prince Carl Phillip of Sweden who, it had been rumored, was showing an interest in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the body responsible for determining the recipients of the science related Nobel Prizes.

"Prince Hottie rescued him about twenty minutes ago. He's fine now."

"Isn't he, though," Pepper agreed.

"Hey, I'm standing right here, your _husband_, remember?"

"Tony, I'm married, not blind. You're the one I'm taking to bed, not anyone else."

"I'd better be, damn."

Pepper laughed. It was kind of fun seeing that well-fitting shoe on the other foot. Maybe she should go check on Bruce and check out the prince personally? "You know…"

"Nuh-uh. You'll say hello, thank you for coming, just like for everyone else," Tony grumbled.

"Jealous?"

"Do I have reason to…no, I don't. Sorry. I'm out of line."

And he recognized it himself, would wonders never cease? "Yes, you were; thank you for realizing it."

"Hey, still a genius. I married you."

"So you did." A loud crash of thunder shook the building. "What in heaven?"

"Uh oh," Darcy said, and directed their attention to the door where a tense Natasha Romanov headed in their direction, escorted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Olivia Ramos. "That doesn't bode well."

"Damn it, no. This is my wedding day, this can't be happening."

"Take it easy, Pep. "I'll just go get my suit, trash the bad guys and I'll be right back."

"No, Stark." Loki was suddenly beside them, Kara at his  
elbow. "You will stay here with your lovely bride. Whatever has happened, we'll handle it."

Natasha and Olivia had arrived, the Agent slightly out of breath from trying to keep pace with the nearly seven months pregnant Black Widow. "Some clown calling himself Doom has flying robots taking pot shots at the Washington Memorial and some of the other tourist spots," Olivia gasped. "Fury's getting civilians evacuated from the area." She bent over slightly, breathing deeply. "How the hell do you move so fast, amiga? You're big as a…" she trailed off and gave the Widow a wary look.

"A very pregnant woman?" Natasha offered with a deceptively sweet smile.

"Yeah, that's it. You're still in better shape than me and I can make most Agents look like wusses."

The former assassin's Sphinx-like smile was her only answer to that question before she turned to the group which now included Bruce. "Thor, Hawkeye, Captain America, Wolverine and Rogue are out there. We have a count of twenty-four mechanicals. There's twenty-five look-a-likes flying around out there; one of them is an armored person," she reported.

"Where's Happy? He has my suit," Tony asked.

"No, he doesn't. I insisted he leave it in our suite."

"Pepper, you…"

"Tony!" Loki's voice cracked like a whip. "You will stay here with your new wife and your guests. I will handle it."

"We'll handle it," Kara added.

The god's eyes rolled. "Yes, of course," he muttered.

"Great," Bruce said. "Let's…"

"No. You will stay in case the enemy realizes the value of the targets gathered here," Loki insisted. "Pepper; allow Tony to have his man bring his armor here and hold on to it in case this venue comes under attack. Then and only then may he surrender it to your husband so that he may aid Dr. Banner in the defense of these people."

"Good compromise." She fished in Tony's pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Damn, I've been wanting your hands in there all day, and all you grab is my phone?" he complained.

"Stow it, Tony." The others took off leaving her with Bruce, Darcy, Olivia and Natasha. Beth was now heading toward them, looking a little wild-eyed. "Happy, get Tony's briefcase out of the Limo and bring it up to the Rooftop Terrace Restaurant. Do no, I repeat, do not give it to him unless Dr. Banner authorizes it, otherwise Dr. Banner will be very angry with you." She winked at Bruce who flashed her a grin. "You two," she directed to her bridegroom and Bruce. "Go and meet Happy up there. You'll have a good view in case trouble heads this way." She turned to the others. "Ladies, split up. Darcy, you and Natasha will deal with the guests here. Olivia, Beth, you're with me." She spun on her heel and headed back to the South Gallery where the main part of the reception was being held. "Hopefully Kara will ensure that jerk is taught some manners. Interrupt my wedding day, will he? Hah."

… …

Natasha waited until Pepper was well out of range before allowing a smile to emerge. "Wow," Darcy said, sounding awed. "She's like, General Pepper."

"It takes a strong woman to take someone like Stark in hand."

"Maybe we should have just sent _her _out to deal with this bozo."

"If she had armor, I'd agree. He wouldn't know what hit him."

"You worried?" Darcy asked her.

"No. Pissed off. That's much worse." She forced a smile as some of the VIPs followed by their security approached them. "A minor delay in the proceedings. Apparently the White House is dealing with a diplomatic situation and needed a bit of assistance."

One of the three princes that had approached held up a smart phone. "Minor? I'm told forces from Latveria are taking your capitol hostage because their country was refused recognition by the United Nations on the insistence of your government."

She grimaced. "It will amount to nothing. The Avengers are dealing with the situation and it will all be handled quickly," she told Prince William.

"Do they need a hand?" one of the others asked.

"Harry, really. You shoot one alien and suddenly you think to assist superheroes? Her Majesty would not be pleased."

The youngest of the three rolled his eyes. "It was two, I'll have you know." He shrugged. "She's never pleased by my actions. I haven't given her a great-grandson, nor have I settled down with a fairly acceptable wife. Someone has to have fun in this family; else what will the Sun and the Daily Mail gossip about?"

Sweden's prince was chuckling. "Indeed. Would you rather they send paparazzi after your newborn?"

"Gentlemen, if you'd like to help, keeping the other guests calm would make our job much easier," she told them, placing one hand on her stomach and forcing a queasy look to distract them.

"Oh dear. Let's get you to a seat Ms. Romanov," Prince William said as he blanched. Heh. Mission accomplished.

… …

"Captain, what is the situation?" Loki asked as he let go of Kara and settled the communications device in his ear.

"Loki? Oh, I see you. Some despot's been denied admission to the U.N. and had this bright idea that he could take out part of D.C. and that would somehow change everyone's minds. We've got about two dozen robots of some kind, flight capabilities similar to Iron Man, armed with energy weapons and standard rounds…uh, bullets like the Black Widow's pistols shoot."

"All right. Kara, can you pick some of them off?"

"Let me concentrate a minute."

"Thor's working up a storm front; he's been keeping them away from the ground so that S.H.I.E.L.D. and the local police can evacuate the people safely. Hawkeye's arrows haven't been doing much good. He's hits them, but even the explosive ones aren't enough to take them out. I've knocked a few down with my shield, but Wolverine can't get to them fast enough to rip them apart before they recover and fly off again…oh crap."

"What's happened?" he asked as he surveyed the area to plan his best attack.

"They've taken a big chuck out of the Washington Monument, uh, that's the tall narrow obelisk to the east of you. The top looks shaky, if it falls…"

"It already wasn't too stable after that earthquake and Hurricane Irene a few years ago," Kara told them, sounding worried. "If it falls it will take out the Lincoln Memorial and there're still a lot of people there."

"I'm on it. The rest of you worry about those robots."

"Brother, do you need assistance with the structure?" Thor asked, his voice crackling as the lightning he had called interfered with his comm. unit.

"No, concentrate on the robots. I've a spell that will hold the obelisk while I see if I can restore the damaged area."

"As you wish; I'll keep them clear of you while you work."

"That's fine…brother," he said and then shifted himself to the base of the monument. Loose rock was raining down on him and cast a quick shield to deflect it while he worked up the energy necessary to place a retaining shield on the surface of the obelisk. As he began to cast, an explosion caught his attention.

"Got one!" Kara crowed. "It took a bit, but I figured out what makes them burn."

"Good job, love. Keep moving so that the others won't be able to target you easily," he reminded as he returned to his own task.

"Steve, behind you!" her voice called out. Loki forced himself to ignore what was happening to the others. He had his job, they had theirs. If he failed, people would die almost immediately. The rain of stone as the weight of the upper part of the structure shifted was increasing.

"Got the bugger," Rogers assured her. "Dang, this isn't the one with the guy in it."

"If he has any sense at all, he'd have booked out of here when his first robot blew," she said as another explosion lit up the area. "Okay, this isn't too hard; the trick is to get them when they're not close enough to anything to damage it when they blow. Thor, Steve, Logan, Hawk, can you guys herd them above that grassy area?"

"You got it, Hellbringer," Logan's voice agreed. "Hey, Rogue is heading up behind you. She'll cover your back."

"How?"

"Hi! I,uh, kinda touched Thor," the girl said. "Just for a sec."

Loki looked up to where Thor hovered in midair, supported by the storm front he'd summoned. "Doesn't seem to have done him any harm," he muttered.

"I briefly lost consciousness, Loki," his brother advised. "That is why we made little progress before your arrival."

"Sorry 'bout that, Sugah," Rogue said apologetically. "Anyway, I can redirect some of the lightning for a bit, so I can hold 'em off if they try and sneak up on you."

"Okay, good deal. Just don't ever touch any of the three of us again. It's too damn dangerous."

"Yes, ma'am. Logan already read me the riot act."

… …

Damn kid. Logan took a running leap and snagged one of the lower flying of the robots with his claws. Pulling himself onto its back, he steered it towards the others. They scattered, effectively ending their coordinated attacks. "Nice job, Wolverine," Captain Smart Ass called out.

"Yeah, whatever." Ducking as one of the other robots shot at him he nearly fell off. As he shifted his position it occurred to him that only one of the armored figures had tried that. "Track the one that's shooting at me, that's our enemy in a robot suit. Cap, Hawk, can one of you knock him out of the sky and sit on him? Hellbringer, Thor, keep blowing up the other ones."

A flurry of agreement came over his earpiece. No one got pissed that he took over, nice change. The robot he was riding was turning its back toward the others who appeared to be gathering for a coordinated strike…oh, shit, they were aiming at him. He trashed the rest of the 'bot and jumped just as they let loose. Bits of robot shrapnel flew through the air. "Logan, you okay?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, kid, I'm fine, just a few cuts." He frowned down at the multitude of bloody gashes and picked out the pieces of metal so they would heal quicker. Looking up he saw the red, white and blue shield spin like a discus and hit one of the armored figures at the exact same moment as it was struck by one of Hawkeye's explosive arrowheads. A very human cry of pain came from it before it began to fall. "Nice shots," he called out to them as he ran to intercept the plummeting figure.

Robot after robot exploded, some hit by lightning, others combusting from within. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late to the party, I don't have a nifty portable armoring gizmo like Tony's," the voice of the Iron Patriot told them. "What can I do to help?"

"Take out some of those robots still in the air," Rogers told him.

"Negative," Loki interrupted. "Thor and Kara can handle them. I need someone with hovering capabilities to lift the missing piece of the obelisk into place so that I can fuse it back in. My retaining shield isn't made to hold for long periods of time and I can't hold that, lift the piece _and _do the repairs all at the same time."

"You got it," Rogers agreed. "Go help Loki with the Monument."

Logan looked down at the prone figure in the boring mask. It started to bolt, so he grabbed it and slammed it back down on the ground. Definitely male, he decided. "You ain't going nowhere, bub."

Rogers arrived and frowned down at the man. "You, sir, are in deep trouble."

… …

Tony grinned as Pepper turned slowly, showing off her crème silk négligée. It clung to her hips and the light swell of her breasts and, most amazingly, to her sweet ass. Not that he'd ever use that word to describe it aloud to her, oh no. She'd be all over him for 'language'. "Damn, you're gorgeous," was the praise he settled for. "Don't tell me I'm not the luckiest man in the world this time, Pep, I know I am."

She smiled that maddening smile. "Sorry, that's still Loki. Of course, he was the unluckiest man in the universe for so long that he was overdue." A few measured slinky steps took her to where he lay on his side and she trailed a hand from his ankle all the way up to his chest. "But yes, you're extremely lucky."

The rest of the reception had gone off without a hitch once the other Avengers returned. They'd taken out the robots, turned the bad guy over to S.H.I.E.L.D., fixed the Washington Monument…it was in better shape than before the attack, Rock of Ages didn't do things halfway, and had been magically cleaned up (again, courtesy of their resident sorcerer) in short order. Rhodey had made it back in time to start off the toasts once they'd all sat down for dinner in the South Gallery of the Kennedy Center. "I guess they'll be okay while we take our extended honeymoon," he mused as he let Pepper turn him on his back and straddle his waist.

"They'll be short Loki and Kara while we go with them to the other Realms," she said. "But Thor will be here then and Rhodey will stay at the Tower that week. They'll be fine." His erection was pressing against the wet, oh yeah, crotch of her matching silk panties. "Why are we spending part of our honeymoon in a frozen wasteland again?"

"It's someplace we've never been and most people will never ever see; it's exclusive. Besides, it won't all be in Jötunheim. Loki's taking us to Asgard, Vanaheim and Ljósálfheim too."

"And then we come back to Earth and go to the South Pacific to soak up the sun." That was a demand, not a request from the tone of her voice.

"Absolutely, but it's Midgard, don't forget." His ready agreement was rewarded by a slow grind of that very wet crotch against his very hard cock.

"I won't." Pepper's hands moved from his biceps to his chest and he took immediate advantage and cupped her pert breasts through the sheer silk. "I love your body," he murmured. "You are so damn perfect."

The smile was back and holy fuck, Pepper was reaching behind her ass to cup his balls in one well manicured hand. A firm squeeze had him groaning and thrusting up against her heat. "Give me your hands, Tony," she told him as she abandoned his sac and reached for his wrists. He cooperated, wondering what she was up to as she raised his arms above his head.

Tony felt something cool brush his hands and then heard two distinctive 'snicks'. "Son of a bitch," he muttered, looking up to see his wrists secured by a pair of steel handcuffs with the connecting chain threaded through the headboard. "You weren't joking."

"Problem?" she asked. His jaw dropped as she rose to her knees, pushed aside the crotch of those wet silk panties, spread her own folds and began playing with her clit.

"Fuck, Pep; that is so damn hot."

"Language, Tony. Now tell me; what do you want?"

"Oh, damn; anything and everything you want to give me."

"Good answer." She edged up the bed until the tops of her thighs pressed against his upstretched arms and her sweet sex was within easy reach of…oh yeah. "I'm waiting," she told him. He looked up and gave her his best wicked grin before lifting his head slightly to take her cunt, another word he'd never use out loud in her hearing, in his very eager mouth. He licked, sucked and teased for all he was worth and a groan ripped through him as she reached back to take his throbbing erection in hand. "What do you want, Tony?" she repeated.

"You, Pepper. Always you and only you," he rasped. She ground her sex down onto his mouth and he damn near lost it. Flicking his tongue hard and fast on that small erect nub as she lifted a bit, he was rewarded with a gush of fluid that squirted from her slick canal. Abandoning her clit he drank down as much as he could catch. "Delicious, babe; damn, I love you," he told her and renewed his attack on that sweet clit.

"I know." Her voice was breathy as her abdominal muscles tightened. Another gush of fluid emerged as she had another squirting orgasm. Damn, two in a row. Man, he was good. He moaned as she rubbed down hard enough that his teeth dug into her vulva. She was a hell of a lot better. Suddenly she pulled away and his eyes flashed open. Oh yeah. Her hands pressed on his stomach for balance as she lifted her pelvis and guided his erection into her dripping canal. Pepper moved her hands to grab his hips and then slammed down on him, surprising him into a yell.

"Fuck! Oh, damn, babe; you are the best!"

"I'll let that one go," Pepper managed as she lifted her hips in a long languorous slide that damn near made him come.

"I 'preciate that," he groaned as she settled into an abso-fucking-lutely breathtaking rhythm that spiraled him into replete oblivion.

… …

She had to remember to thank Natasha later, Pepper thought as she stretched against Tony's side. Sex with her reformed playboy was always good, but the tutelage she'd received from the former assassin had taken it up a notch from good to great. A wry smile emerged as the 'Tony the Tiger' commercial tag line ran through her mind. "You now have your very own kind of snarky nickname," she informed him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm; I'll surprise you with it one of these days."

His eyes popped open and widened comically. "Should I live in dread?"

"Maybe." Dealing with the anticipation would serve him right, she decided.

"Am I getting out of these cuffs any time soon?" he asked. "I'd really love to hold my wife as we recover from the best sex I've ever experienced."

"Oh, of course. Hmm, yes, you do look like you need some recovery time; what a shame."

"Pepper, you're killing me here."

She laughed as she sat up and inspected the handcuffs. "Now what did I do with that key?"

Tony paled. "You-you're kidding, right?"

Affecting a concerned expression, she made a show of searching the drawer in the nightstand. "Not here, damn; where did I put it?"

"Uh, Pep, this isn't good."

"I suppose I could call Loki. He could pop in here and unlock them with magic."

Groaning as his head dropped back Tony closed his eyes. "Please don't."

She enjoyed the slight flush that rose in his cheeks for a full minute before deciding to let him off the hook. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed. "There it is." Leaning over, she retrieved the key from where she had placed it, under the edge of the bed.

"Thank god."

"I thought you didn't believe?"

"Hey, I had three gods attend my wedding; maybe I'm thanking one of them? They're kind of hard not to believe in."

"But you didn't let me call them to help so why…"

"Pep, unlock me, please?" he whined.

"Well, okay; since you asked so nicely." A small smile snuck out but she managed not to laugh at his sigh of relief when she pulled the cuffs from his wrists. "Oh, come on; it wasn't that bad."

"Bad? Hell no, it was totally fantastic. But damn, Reindeer Games would have laughed himself sick if you'd have called him to get the cuffs off."

"Hmm." She let him pull her into a tight embrace.

"Speaking of the devil; I never did get to hear about the bad guy du jour. I kept getting dragged off by one guest or another. Did you manage to find out anything?"

"Yes, it was a scientist named Victor von Doom; apparently he's now the ruler of some Central European country called Latveria and has taken to calling himself Dr. Doom. Oh, and get this…he's calling his robots 'Doombots'. Is that disturbingly cliché or what?"

"Victor…damn. He went to college with Reed Richards; pretty much a genius but not on Reed's level let alone mine. Wonder what happened to make him go the villain route?"

"Does it matter? He's in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody. I imagine they'll handle it." Tony nodded and pressed a gentle kiss against her neck as his calloused palms soothingly rubbed her back. "Let's have room service deliver a snack, and then get back to our personal celebration, husband."

"I love the way you think, wife."

… …

**Author's Notes:** Supreme Court Associate Justices Ruth Ginsberg and Elena Kagan are real. Justice Ginsberg was indeed the first SCAJ to preside over a same sex marriage and Justice Kagan really was Harvard's Dean of Law. While the Marvel comics call Rogue 'Anna Marie', the movie-verse simply calls her 'Marie'. Unlike many writers, I'm not using Doom as an established villain. He wasn't such when the Avengers first assembled and since my series begins immediately after that event, he's still new at the game. For the Clooney/Pitt bits, I'm extrapolating from the various gossip site reports, not fully making it up on my own. The rumor that Prince Carl Phillip of Sweden (a rather hot looking royal in his early thirties) is becoming involved with the Nobel Prizes was started by me, just now. If it spreads, you're all to blame (wink).


	4. Promises Kept

"Are you certain you want us here now that my circumstances have changed?" Loki asked his half-brother. Kara glanced up from the treacherous path to gauge Helblindi's reaction. Tony and Pepper, trailing along behind them, were so buried in their arctic gear she doubted they could even hear the conversation.

"You mean the return of your magic?" Loki nodded. "Of course," Helblindi's sharp voice insisted. "Were it not for you and your lady I would likely not be alive to celebrate this day." He really believed that, she decided.

"Býleistr could not have succeeded in taking you down..."

"No, but with him dead and Malekith attacking my Realm unimpeded by you and your friends I might yet have died; and the Svartálfar would rule Jötunheim. That would be untenable. Despite your previous actions, you are a hero here, my brother." Helblindi shot Loki a mischievous look that made it even more obvious than the clan markings that they were brothers by blood. "Besides, you are my heir. It is required you attend me at my name day feast."

"I sincerely hope you rectify _that_ situation soon."

"In due time; I must wed my queen first. I will not take advantage of her as Býleistr did." Both men frowned at the reminder and now they stared at the icy ground that was dusted with a light coating of snow. Not that they needed to watch their step. When Loki took Jötunn form his balance and agility, already greater than any human, Æsir or Ljósálfar she'd met, improved substantially.

Frowning, she realized she'd never seen _any_ of the Jötnar slip on the ice. "Why don't your people ever slip on ice?" she found herself blurting out. _That_ Tony heard. His head shot up and she could see his eyes narrow behind the goggles.

The brothers stopped and stared at her. Loki looked as perplexed as she felt, which was reassuring. Helblindi shrugged. "I would have said that we are simply used to it, but my brother is not. I do not know; I shall ask the elders if the question has ever been considered."

"It's not important," she muttered.

"Perhaps not, but now my own curiosity is aroused." Helblindi's smirk was back. The path ended at the combination palace and fortress that was carved into a mountain. On their last visit, she'd thought it a glacier, but some of the rock was showing through on this side. Helblindi had informed them this was normal for this time of year when the palace had first come into view. "Once you've settled into your quarters, I'd appreciate it if you'd visit with my bride to be, Kara. Skrikja is unsettled about our marriage."

"Um, wouldn't it be more helpful for her to talk to one of your people?"

Her brother-in-law grimaced. "Despite my proclamation, many of our females are shunning her."

"What? Why? Do they think she wanted to be raped, or that she asked for it somehow?" She tamped down her anger. It wasn't Helblindi's fault.

"No, they shun her because she spoke out about it and demanded recompense."

Kara stopped walking and Pepper nearly fell trying to avoid walking into her. "Excuse me?"

"Love, let's get our friends ins…" her husband began as he tried to pull her along the path.

"Let go, Loki." She turned to glare at Helblindi. "Are you telling me that they think she should have kept silent?" He nodded. "Why? Do they think what Býleistr did was right or do they think she should be ashamed to have _allowed_ it to happen?"

The Jötnar king looked troubled. "I do not know; she will no longer speak to me of it."

"None of the other women will either, I take it." He nodded miserably. "Damn him; he's hurting that girl, not to mention the others, from the grave. Okay, I'll talk to her. At least if she won't actually tell me anything I can probably figure out what's going on by how she feels about what I say."

"As I hoped; thank you."

… …

They had a chamber to themselves this time and braziers had been set up around the room to keep it at what Kara's SI Tablet told them was a sweltering fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Well, Gymir had pronounced it 'nigh on sweltering' when he had greeted them there. Loki found it comfortable in his Jötunn form and just a trifle chilly when he shifted to Æsir. Kara had been able to take off her arctic gear and was just covering up with a fur-lined cloak as she pulled out clothing suitable for the evening meal. "Are you warm enough without using your self-heating?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. I won't even need the cloak once I'm dressed; well, not in here anyway. Asgardian formal garb is too warm for what I consider normal temperatures so it should be perfect for this."

"Will you go visit Skrikja before the meal?"

"Do you think I should? It may upset her; I know your brother is looking forward to us all enjoying a quiet dinner together before the festivities begin tomorrow. On the other hand, if I can figure out what's going on, maybe I can convince her to talk to him about it."

"Hmm." He watched as his lady frowned at the outfits she'd pulled out of her pack; the pack that she had once again refused to let him carry, she was an insufferable woman about certain things. The cloak billowed open as she turned and his breath caught. "You're naked under that thing."

She snickered at his reaction. "And here I thought Tony was the genius."

"Heh. Come here wife," he said in a demanding tone. She started to glare at him but it quickly turned to a smile as she saw him shift back to his Jötunn form.

"Ordering me around again?" she asked as she sauntered over to him and ran her hands up his bare chest to his shoulders. The heat of her palms as her body automatically adjusted her temperature to compensate made him shiver.

He gave her a rueful look. "Only when it's something I know you want to do anyway." Ghosting his hands along her hips, up to her breasts he leaned in to steal a kiss or two…perhaps three?

She was laughing softly when he finally pulled back. "We're going to have to save this for later. I really should go talk to Skrikja now."

"Damn. I was afraid you'd say that." Pulling away she reached for her underwear then gasped as her clothing suddenly appeared on her body. He smirked when she turned to stare at him with one eyebrow raised. "It's not an inappropriate use; Odin himself said so."

"Some warning would be appreciated, you know." Kara's tone was stern but her lips smiled. "Thank you. I wasn't looking forward to all of the damn laces and such."

"I know, love. Go chat with my brother's fiancé. Let's see if you can clear up the mystery."

… …

"Damn, it's cold," Tony griped as he unpacked the clothing Kara and Loki had selected for him.

Pepper frowned at him. "It's chilly in here, but it was positively frigid in the corridor. Is that normal?"

"Probably. Clint mentioned he felt like he had frozen…uh, privates the whole time he was here. I don't think they had this many fires in their room though. Huh, you're right, it's not all that bad in here," he decided as he rubbed his hands together in front of one of the braziers.

She rolled her eyes. "You're the one who wanted to come. Suck it up."

"In point of fact, I didn't."

"Then what are we doing here?" She watched with narrowed eyes as Tony scuffed his foot against the floor like a small boy trying to avoid a question he didn't want to answer. "Well?"

"Loki was, um, uncomfortable about Kara being the only non-Jötnar here. Odin thought it would be rude to send anyone who wasn't specifically invited, particularly considering the success of the trade and treaty talks."

"So were we invited?"

"Loki sent a message to Helblindi asking he invite us so that he and Kara could give us a tour of all of the Allied Realms as a wedding gift. It wasn't something Helblindi could refuse without being ungracious and Loki got what he wanted without forcing anyone on his brother, kind of."

"It's disturbing that your rambling actually made sense to me."

Her husband managed an affronted look. "Aw, come on. It wasn't that bad." He wandered around the room, poking and prodding at the sparse furnishings and peeking behind the few doors. "Hah, here's the bathroom. It has its own fire pit; and I mean pit, not one of these small dealiobobs," he said, pointing at a brazier. "The bed is really soft."

She inspected it. "Hmm, it should be. It's several dozen layers of fur pelts over some kind of solid base." Sitting down on it proved interesting; she sank a good six inches. "Oh, it's warm, too. We'll be able to, um…"

"Get busy?"

"I was thinking about sleep, but that too, without worrying about getting a chill."

"Well, all right then."

… …

Skrikja was sitting in a chair in the corner of the chambers she'd been allotted as the King's Intended. While she'd allowed the attendant to let Kara in the girl wouldn't look at her and instead focused a sullen gaze on the sewing she had refused to set down. Kara sighed. This was going to be difficult. "Thank you for agreeing to see me," she told the bride-to-be politely.

The Jötunn girl shrugged. "I cannot be rude to the sister-by-marriage of my king," she muttered.

Oh boy. She was referring to Helblindi as her king rather than her fiancé…or husband-to-be as the Jötnar people would word it. Fine. "Not putting down your sewing is rude, you know." Skrikja's red eyes flashed at her and she set the cloth down on the table beside her with a huff. "I'm not here to cause trouble for you; I know you're having a difficult time; Helblindi is worried for you."

"There is naught he can do."

"Can you help me with something?" Skrikja frowned at the question she had clearly not been expecting. "I-I'm not familiar with your people and I don't know anything about your aesthetics, what someone of Jötunn blood raised here might find attractive or beautiful. There's something human women do just for fun; we rate the men we know on a scale of one to ten based on their attractiveness. Someone who rates a one would be pitied and someone who rates a ten would be all but worshipped. The average, of course, is five or six. On that kind of scale, where do Helblindi, Loki, Gymir and Slingard fall?" The girl frowned at her and Kara wasn't sure if she was considering the question or confused by it. "In his Æsir form, Loki easily rates an eight or even a nine from human women who don't know he's a god. Of course, I think he's a ten, but I'm biased."

Ah ha. Skrikja's mouth twitched, just a bit and Kara could feel a wash of amusement run through the girl. "We do not assign numbers as you do, but we do speak of attractiveness between us," the girl admitted. "Even though he is far too small, your Loki would likely be a seven here because his look is exotic. His handsomeness rivals that of his brother, but his small size detracts from it greatly."

"So, what would Helblindi be?"

"He is greatly desired by most of our women, you would call him a nine or even a ten. It is not the crown that makes him so wanted; he is simply excellent in looks and form. Gymir is a seven or perhaps an eight just on looks, an eight or possibly nine if you include his prowess in battle, I think. Slingard only a six, but he is quite admired for his bravery and is wealthy as well, so he could still wed any he wished."

"Do the other women envy you, then?"

"No." Skrikja's expression closed off, damn it, and depression washed through her.

"Why the hell not? You'll be queen, you'll have the handsomest man in the Realm to love you, and you'll have the best of everything."

"All know he weds me only out of duty and pity," Skrikja snapped as she turned away.

Oh, shit. The girl really believed that. "Um, honey? Helblindi may have looked at you first out of duty, but when he did look, he was impressed. Loki tells me that his brother was boasting of his future wife's beauty when he visited us on Midgard." The blue face turned slightly in Kara's direction and one red eye was visible through the fall of straight black hair. "He was so enthusiastic about your looks that Loki had to tell him to keep his comments to himself or I'd be offended by how he was focusing on your beauty instead of your courage and intelligence."

"He said I had courage?"

Not exactly, but…hmm. "He was very proud of your strength of will; even Gymir was really impressed with you."

"The others…they think I played on his guilt to become queen. That would be a shameful thing."

"Well, sure; but you didn't. You just spoke up for what was right. It was his idea to marry you."

Skrikja was facing her fully now. "Do you truly believe he desires me?"

Kara thought of the flash of need that had run through Helblindi when he told Loki he'd have to wait to be replaced as heir. "Oh, I'm positive. I think he's afraid to come on too strong; he doesn't want you to feel forced to accept him…he doesn't want to remind you of Býleistr."

"Our king is _nothing_ like that níðhöggr!"

"Hmm, I'd have called him a bilgesnipe, but I agree; Helblindi is an honorable man."

"He is a good king and I am not worthy to be his queen."

Crap. It felt like Skrikja should be crying, but there were no…oh. Loki had told her that in his Jötunn form he had no tears. That made sense, traditional tears would freeze. She stood and crossed to the girl's chair and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Helblindi thinks you are more than worthy; he wonders if _he_ is worthy of _you_."

… …

Helblindi glanced nervously around the high table. Court had gone well; Skrikja had smiled shyly at him as was appropriate for her station. After her seeming withdrawal at last night's private dinner he'd been relieved when she'd gladly accepted his escort and accompanied him to the throne with her head held high. Remembering Kara's advice to ensure that his Intended knew he desired her he'd pressed his lips to the back of her hand before seating her on the small bench that sat on his left. Loki and Kara had approached, bowed and then taken their seats on the heir's throne and a stool to his right. His craftsmen had built steps and a platform to slightly raise the seats of his brother and his brother's wife so that their smaller stature was not so glaringly obvious. He'd made proclamations and had accepted gifts. His Skrikja had embroidered him a finely woven chiton with runes for good fortune, strength and health. She'd personally dyed and spun the fibers from the alpaca wool he'd brought back from Midgard and had even woven the fabric herself. It was a fine garment and he'd wear it proudly. His Midgardian guests, The Man of Iron and his bride, had gifted him with rare beverages and preserved fruits and vegetables from their Realm. Loki and Kara had presented him with a brooch made of a metal they'd called 'platinum', set with a wine red crystal they'd named 'garnet'. They'd told him privately that the stone had a powerful ward set in it that would protect him from an initial magical attack should Malekith or his pet enchantress come here. While there was no longer anything here the Svartálfar ruler could want, Loki was concerned that in his rage over being thwarted in his designs on Asgard the half-breed would target Helblindi for revenge. "Loki?" he asked as he turned to his brother. "Does the brooch you are wearing do the same?"

Loki blinked a moment before his eyes fastened on his gift and understanding crossed his features. "Ah, no; mine will alert me if the ward in your brooch is triggered." He shrugged. "I'll need to know when it needs to be recharged."

He snorted. A polite way of saying that he'd come running to help, no doubt. Ah well; he could not blame his elder brother for feeling protective as he felt the same way. Unfortunately, he could not travel between realms without the assistance of Asgard as Loki could. "How are you faring, my sister-by-marriage?" he asked Kara who was dressed only in Asgardian garb with a fur-lined cloak flipped back over her shoulders.

"I'm fine; it's actually not too cold in here for me to handle without a drain now."

Now that she was fully Æsir, was what she did not say. It was true; the Æsir did have a much higher tolerance for cold than the Midgardians. "Hmm, do not forget to bundle up if you go outdoors."

"I won't; I'm not that overconfident that I'd waste my energy unnecessarily."

Lady Pepper leaned forward a bit to look at Skrikja where she sat quietly eating at his side. "Skrikja, do you have plants that you use to make your dyes here? I've never seen a natural burgundy quite that deep before."

His Intended managed a small smile. "It is mineral based," she explained. "A very rare mineral is used which is why the color is reserved for royalty."

"Oh, a sumptuary color, we call it." The odd word didn't translate directly through the all-speak. "Purple used to be reserved that way on Ear…Midgard until we discovered how to make artificial dyes. It must have been so much work to get it all done so quickly."

Skrikja shrugged. "I wanted a worthy gift to give."

Helblindi frowned. "You need give me nothing, your agreement to become my queen is the most worthy gift of all," he insisted. All conversation in the room stopped. He glanced around and saw Kara nodding at him. Ah…this must be part of the problem; some of his people thought her unworthy. Turning back to Skrikja, he took her hand. "Your strength and courage alone make you worthy of the greatest among us," he insisted in a raised voice. Despite Loki's admonitions to not mention such in front of Kara he continued. "I consider your beauty an unexpected but much admired bonus, and your intelligence will make you a wise queen indeed." Skrikja was staring at him, looking a bit astounded. "My greatest hope is that _I_ prove worthy enough to win your love."

"Well said, brother," Loki told him in a whisper.

Skrikja's cheeks flushed purple as their people began chattering in the background again. "You have my admiration already," she said with a small smile. "I am pleased to be your chosen."

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. "Then I shall work to earn your heart," he promised.

… …

"That went well," Loki commented as they closed the door to their chambers behind them. "Skrikja perked up quite a bit after Helblindi made his promise."

"Of course she did. That's all she needed; to know that he wants her for herself and not just to feel better about not stopping his brother's wrongs sooner than he did." Kara smirked and let her head drop back against him as he pressed close to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "And since he did it so publicly, maybe the jealous bitches will get off her case about why he chose her."

"Perhaps; though their jealousy may now take more normal routes."

"She's tough; I think she can handle that."

"Hmm, and you, my lady, would know tough." Loki turned his attention to what he still insisted on calling her 'sweet spot'. Not that she minded; it was a lot nicer than 'erogenous zone'. He nibbled lightly on the tendon that led from behind her ear down to the inside of her collarbone and then made her shiver with a long languorous lick as he fondled her breasts. "Shall we retire, love?"

"Sounds like a wonderful…" she jumped as the door slammed open.

"Brother!" Helblindi called out enthusiastically. "Is it not a wonderful night?"

Loki sighed and slipped his hands back out from where they'd been exploring under her neckline. "It was about to be." Kara tried not to snicker at his disgusted tone as she laced her bodice back up. "To what do we owe the _pleasure_ of your company?" her husband continued as he pulled away from her.

"She kissed me," Helblindi absolutely gushed. "Well, she returned my kiss, but it is much the same."

"Wait." Kara turned to stare at her brother-in-law. "You came bursting in here unannounced just to tell us your fiancé returned your goodnight kiss?" Oh this took the cake.

"Yes, is it not wonderful? She did not pull away and she did not push me away, Skrikja kissed me back!"

Oh my freaking God. What was he, a teenager? She looked up at Loki who was successfully fighting the smirk she could feel. "That is certainly progress," Loki managed to say in an encouraging tone. Heh, he wasn't the Norse god of Lies for nothing. "Now you simply need to continue your pursuit."

"Yes, well…that is why I am here."

"Okay, just how old are you?" Kara found herself snapping before she could think about it.

"I have seen seven-hundred cycles this name day," Helblindi responded as a wave of offended pride ran through him.

She looked at Loki who gave a minute shake of his head. "I imagine you've never had to actively pursue a woman you desired," he said diplomatically.

"I have not, no."

Damn, poor guy sounded miserable. "Then I guess you've come to the right place. Loki's an expert."

"I did win you," he agreed smugly.

"Excellent. What do I do next?" Helblindi asked.

Swallowing a groan Kara looked at the brothers. "Since this is way outside of my area of expertise, I'll leave you to it and get some sleep. Good night."

"I'll wake you when…" Loki trailed off as she leveled a glare at him. "On second thought, I'll do my best not to wake you when I come to bed."

"Thank you, darling."

… …

Amora shivered with cold behind her carefully wrought illusion. To any but the sorcery-trained observer she and her companion appeared to be Jötnar of the serving class. She strode confidently down the frozen halls, following the pull of power that had brought her here. Malekith had scried the presence of powerful wards and theorized that the Jötnar had managed to secure some type of artifact from Asgard during their recent trade negotiations. The dark bastard wanted it, of course, but discovered that the Jötnar had definitely secured Odin's assistance in barring Malekith from their Realm, even through Yggdrasill's branches. "How dare he treat me like an errand-girl," she fumed quietly to the magically altered Svartálfar at her side. The oversized Álfar, a good foot taller than most of his kind, simply stared at her from behind his enchanted armor. He had no real loyalty to Malekith; but he was easily manipulated. Tell him that his actions would gain him revenge against Thor for a perceived past wrong and he would do literally anything.

Kurse grabbed her shoulder and steered her into a side corridor. She opened her mouth to berate him then held the rant as she felt a low level of energy behind them. He stepped back into an alcove and she squeezed in with him. A young Jötunn female, attended by older servants, was processing down the main hall. "Sorceress," Kurse whispered. He wasn't wrong. The girl had the blood for it, but it was, as of yet, untrained.

She waited until the entourage had disappeared into one of the chambers far down the hall before speaking. "I've felt no true artifact, just a few disparate though powerful wards; but that child might be a prize worth gaining. Can your armor withstand their ice?"

The Svartálfar's eyes brightened with unholy glee. "Aye."

… …

"The food was tasty, and surprisingly varied," Pepper told him as they pulled off the thermal layer that they'd worn under their clothing. S.H.I.E.L.D. had one hell of a supplier; they'd been a bit chilly, but not actually cold in the banquet hall despite the fact that only the alcoholic liquids and those that were served in heated containers weren't slushy from the ambient temperature. "Gymir said they have underground farming. Mostly root vegetables, but still, I was impressed."

Even root vegetables needed sunlight or a reasonable substitute. "What do they use for lighting?"

"Some type of crystal imbued with magic. They have a few left over from when the sorcerer who was evidently Loki and Odin's common ancestor designed the operation about fifteen thousand of our years ago, but they're slowly fading; a great deal of the trade agreements hinged on getting new ones. They're amazingly self-sufficient considering how limited their resources are."

"I noticed that. I was talking to Slingard about it. He said that the crystals sorcerers use for holding power are abundant here but not so much in the other Realms. That's going to be their big export." He frowned as he moved closer to one of the small fires. "So, bed or bath?"

"The bath is fed from underground hot springs. Skrikja said they usually draw it and let it sit to cool down a little before they can use it. It might be perfect for us right away."

"And get some of the chill off, hmm. Nope, fun first, then bath, then sleep. We'll be nice and warm from the hot springs."

"Tony…"

"Aw, come on, Pepper; where's your spirit of adventure? Don't you want to set a record? We'd be the only humans ever to make love in each of the Allied Realms."

"Not bragging rights I would make public and you'd better not either."

"Spoilsport; I fully intended to make that boast to Big Bird."

She gave him the look that meant she was considering the idea. "That's fine. Only among the Avengers, though."

"Cool deal. Get it?" A sigh was her only answer.

… …

Loki was making a concerted effort to be silent. He'd removed his clothing using magic and had crept into the bed after stoking the fires in the braziers, again, using magic. His care was all for naught. The moment he settled his weight onto the furs her eyes shot open. "I thought you'd never come to bed," Kara murmured sleepily.

"Nor did I; Helblindi proved to be totally clueless about women. He seems to be so wrapped up in a dream of honor before anything that he'd truly not given much thought to it at all."

The beautiful kaleidoscope eyes that he adored so thoroughly narrowed. "Please don't tell me that he's a virgin."

He snickered. "No, he's not quite as bad as Rogers. Gymir and Slingard have managed to induce him to participate in what he calls _recklessness_ from time to time; but it has always been with females who are interested only in sex and not in relationships."

"Thank God. I was afraid you were going to have to give him the birds and the bees talk."

"Hmm, if I understand that phrase correctly, then no. Though I think that the art of seducing an emotionally innocent and vulnerable female while retaining her respect is a far more difficult subject to teach."

"Is it really seduction when you're marrying her?"

"It is when she's suffered trauma through a physical relationship; even if the woman loves you, you must still seduce her into trusting you not to harm her." He waited while she digested that statement. Finally her expression cleared.

"Oh, like you had to do with me, only I had to trust that I wouldn't harm you."

"Exactly, love." He smiled as she reached out for him and settled into her embrace. "She's not a virgin, obviously, but he needs to treat her as one. Though she may surprise him, I doubt it; her poor experience was far too recent."

"True; I'd had fifteen years to get past it before I met you."

"You, my darling, were magnificent, right from the start."

"Uh huh."

"I'm quite serious. You were responsive, uninhibited, passionate…perfect."

Kara shrugged. "I loved you and I'd decided to trust you. I-I needed to have that from you…at the time I thought that's all I would ever have and I wanted one wonderful memory."

"I hope you have more than that now."

"You know damn well I have more than that now; stop fishing for compliments."

He decided to push the teasing mood. "Well, when my lovely wife is so stingy with them, what am I to do but to seek them out?"

"And people call me a brat." She ran her thumb along his cheekbone and traced the edge of his ear. "You do realize that no one else would put up with you?"

While she was teasing in return, her statement hit home hard. "Yes, love. I've long realized it; that's why you are such a miracle to me."

Of course his amazing Kara sensed his change in mood. "Don't. "You're perfect for me and I'll always love you, want you and need you exactly the way you are." He managed a smile for her and the cheeky wench smirked at him. "Now, where were we before your brother so rudely interrupted us?"

… …

They would take the female, leaving traces of Asgardian magic behind for the Jötnar to find; the Frost giants would call on Heimdall in Asgard to complain and the All-Father would send Thor to investigate. Then he would finally have his revenge. He ignored the pain as his satisfied grin stretched the skin fused against the mask of his armor. Revenge would be sweet. He moved silently under cover of the illusion; the young female, barely his height, looked up from the beads she was carefully sorting. "I don't know you," she said in a mildly irritated voice. "Why are you here?"

He did not answer but continued to move to the girl's side. Something alerted her that all was not as it seemed and she lifted the tray and flung it and its contents in his face. Snarling, he lunged forward and grabbed her shoulder to pull her up against him. His armor frosted over and he covered her mouth with his other gauntleted hand as she attempted to scream. While taking a step backwards dragging the struggling female, Kurse's foot began to slide. The chit took immediate advantage, lifting both feet and bracing them against the nearest piece of furniture. She thrust out with her thigh muscles and sent him further off balance. "Bitch!" he hissed as his other foot lost traction and they both tumbled over backwards.

The double impact of first the ground against his back and then the weight of the female on his chest drove the breath from his lungs and she managed to scrabble partially free. "Helblindi!" she screamed. "Intruders, help…" he managed to cut her off in mid-yell as he regained his feet and his hold upon her. It was too late, she'd been heard. The sound of pounding feet echoed in the corridor. He dragged her to the back room and the secret path that the Enchantress had scried. It was time for a strategic retreat, hostage in hand.

… …

"You have got to be kidding me," Kara muttered as the door to their chambers crashed open for the second time that night interrupting their love play before they'd quite reached their peak. "Oh, no; something's seriously wrong," she told him as her expression changed from irritation to worry.

He reluctantly pulled away from her and drew one of the furs over her nude form. "Sorry, love." Sitting up he magically called for his trousers and stared at his haggard half-brother. "What happened?"

"Skrikja, she's gone. One of the servants heard her call out something about intruders, but by the time they arrived, she'd been taken."

"Oh, hell." Loki looked back at his lady's comment; she was now frowning fiercely.

Though he knew that wasn't what she meant, he couldn't resist a retort. "On the contrary, I'm certain Hel had nothing to do with this."

"Not the time for jokes, Loki," she grumbled. "Now either get me dressed or get your brother out of here so I can dress my…" she broke off as her clothing appeared on her body. "Thank you." Throwing the fur off she half climbed and half rolled off of the piled furs. "I'll go get Tony. Someone will need to guard Pepper."

"We need only warn Tony then he can guard his wife on his own."

Kara's eyes were not settling on a focus. "We're going to need him," was her cryptic response as she headed for the door.

"I'll assign a pair of trustworthy guards to Lady Pepper," Helblindi offered and followed her out into the hall.

"Damnation." Frigga had warned him that Kara might be developing foresight, many Æsir empaths did. If Kara thought that Iron Man would be needed, the apparent abduction was likely not a domestic matter. He called their armor and weapons to their bodies before following Helblindi down the hall.

… …

Tony sighed as the steaming water enveloped him. They'd had to wait about fifteen minutes after the tub had filled before the heat was tolerable; much less than the full hour and then some that Skrikja had described to Pepper. He didn't think Loki had that kind of intolerance for hot water, he'd have to ask. Pepper was sitting in front of him, using him as a pillow. The hard surface of the arc reactor embedded in his chest didn't seem to bother her. He lazily drew patterns on her breasts with his finger after dipping it in the soft clingy soap that sat in a small urn beside the tub. "Not quite as decadent as the baths in Asgard, but it's not too shabby," he mused.

"Are Asgard's baths better than the one you installed in the Tower?"

"Oh yeah; I wasn't able to duplicate them exactly. You'll see; it'll spoil you totally for anything else."

"Mm. What do you think about getting dirty again after we've finished in here?" she asked.

"Sounds like a plan."

"So, this is one Realm down…how many to go?"

He had to think about it. "Two down. They count Midgard as one of the Nine Realms. We're kind of the keystone. Get Loki to show you how they connect, it's pretty fascinating."

"Okay, two down out of how many, then?"

"Huh. The Allied Realms include Asgard, Ljósálfheim, Jotunheim, Vanaheim and Midgard. So we've got two out of five so far. Technically Niflheim is allied, but no one alive can go there safely, so we don't have to count them."

"Doesn't Helheim count as a, uh, Realm?"

"That's technically the center of Niflheim. It's more Hel's seat of power in that Realm rather than a separate one. I think. Hogun and Fandral weren't really clear on it. Obviously, they're alive so they've never been there. Huh, Loki might know considering Hel's his daughter."

"Wait…if you add Muspelheim and Svartálfheim that only makes eight."

"Uh, Nidavellir is the world of the Dökkálfar…uh, we'd call them dwarves. Well, damn. Loki didn't say he was taking us there so I guess we won't be doing it in all of the Allied Realms."

"Tony, get out here!"

They looked at each other. "Kara? What the hell, kid?"

"Come on, it's an emergency. Get dressed, get armored. A couple of guards will be here for Pepper in a minute."

"Son of a bitch."

… …

They hurried down the hall; well, hurried as fast as Tony could move in his armor, it wasn't really made for walking. "Do we have any idea what we're looking for?" he asked her.

"No. They're not even sure if it's someone external. I really think it is, and Loki agrees with me, but we can't rule out some kind of dissidents here."

"So why am I not protecting my wife?" She turned to stare at him…well, at his faceplate. That nagging feeling had told her he needed to be fully armored.

"Remember how sick I was at the ball before Loki was taken?"

"Oh shit."

"Yeah. We're going to need you with us; I don't know how and I don't know why, but we'll need you and you need to have your full new and nifty more or less freeze-proof armor on." She spun and headed down Helblindi's private corridor. Loki and the Jötunn king were standing near the door to Skrikja's chambers, arguing. "Okay, would both of you please stop? We need to be on the same page here." Helblindi frowned at her, apparently the all-speak hadn't been helpful. "Sorry, colloquialism. We all need to approach this the same way."

"I am not so vain or overconfident as to think I could not have enemies amongst my people," her brother-in-law told her. "Why do you not believe one of my people is to blame?"

"Oh, I can answer that one," Tony offered. "Frigga said that the empaths of Asgard almost always have foresight to some degree. Now that Kara is fully Æsir, she's not seeing things the same way as a Seer like Frigga does, but she's feeling them really strongly." They all stared at him. "What? I noticed she was very antsy the day Loki was snatched and I asked Frigga about it."

"Glad someone did," she told Tony. "It never occurred to me; I've just always trusted my hunches. But you're right; they've gotten stronger and a lot more specific since Odin started the conversion process on me." Loki was nodding thoughtfully. Helblindi just felt frustrated. His expression wasn't giving away a thing. "So could it be Malekith?"

"No, he was barred from all of the Allied Realms," Loki informed her.

"How about Amora?"

"She can walk the branches; you cannot bar her in the same manner."

"Um, Loki? I don't think Malekith had an artifact with him the last time we were here. He would have used it, don't you think? Maybe he can walk the branches of Yggdrasil as well?"

"Bloody hell." He glared at her smirk. "What?"

"That's a very Earth-English, specifically British, expletive. It just sounds funny coming from you, even if your accent is kind of close to British."

He sighed. "I spent a good bit of time there a century or so ago. I must have picked it up. Can we get back to our problem, love?"

"Sorry. Helblindi, I apologize. I guess the tension is getting to me," she offered as his annoyance spiked.

"Your apology is accepted."

"Hey, guys…Jarvis is picking up readings. One of them is Æsir and the other is definitely not. I mean, we're getting an Æsir reading that doesn't match either of you and a reading that isn't Æsir or Jötnar…aaandd, looks very similar to, but not exactly like those Svartálfar we fought on Asgard."

"Malekith is a half-breed," Loki said. "Would that account…"

"Nope; I have a reading of him from Asgard after you two got hitched. It's definitely not him."

"One of his people, maybe mixed with something else?" she guessed.

"Possibly." Loki frowned. "Can you track them?"

"Thought you'd never ask; the Iron Bloodhound is on the job."

"Iron what?" Helblindi asked.

… …

Skrikja had never been more furious in her life. Not even when Býleistr had insisted on taking his 'rights' with her innocence. Enchantress, the Æsir called herself. She had a name for her, but it was not nearly so complimentary. The woman had used some type of sorcery to bind her and force her to stop struggling and the armored man carried her flung over his shoulder. His armor frosted over, but he didn't seem to freeze as he should; it had to be more sorcery. They carried her deep within the fortress; there was something significant about that, something on the edge of her memory, a tale her mother had told, but she could not recall it. Surely they meant to take her off-realm? If they remained here Helblindi would find them. Despair welled up and threatened to overwhelm her control. He'd kissed her. Not in the rough brutish manner that his brother had taken her lips with, but with a warm, gentle insistence. He had almost teased a response from her. The sorcerous bindings did not prevent her flush. "Kurse, put her down here," the woman ordered. She was dropped heavily to the floor of the farming level. "I'll need to search for the entrance. I haven't used this one before."

"Should I go watch for Thor?" he asked in a rough, almost tortured voice.

The pale haired sorceress gave him a sharp look. "Yes, of course…you do that," she almost purred. The condescending smirk she wore did not match her tone in the least. Was the man being manipulated? Prince Loki's adoptive brother would have no reason to come here where he was still not readily welcome. If only she could speak, perhaps she could drive a wedge between the conspirators. "Fool," the woman said softly as she held up her hands a thumb's width from the wall and moved slowly along it.

Something was making her itch; not anything natural. This itch was under her skin. The sorcery used by the Enchantress had a certain feel to it, but it was sharper, almost painful. This, this itch, was far more subtle. Wait; Loki was a sorcerer. Her husband-to-be had told her that his half-brother was very powerful and was one of the most skilled of all sorcerers in the Nine Realms despite his relative youth. Perhaps he searched for her? She allowed her hope to rise and concentrated on the itch. If she gave it her full attention, mayhap he might notice? It was worth the effort. "Nnnnh," was all she managed to vocalize to express her frustration at being incapable of doing anything more to thwart her captors.

The Æsir's head snapped around. "Well, more gifted than I thought. No matter, they can't hear your pitiful mewling." Her attention returned to the wall. "I will find that entry," she muttered. Skrikja returned to concentrating on the itch and its likely source.

… …

"The location is approximately one hundred meters below us, sir," Jarvis told Tony. "And fifty meters…" the pause was actually noticeable, "at a two-o-clock position, relative to the direction you currently face."

"What the fuck, J?"

"There is no magnetic north here, Tony," Loki explained. "There is no point of reference save yourself that your AI can use to make directional calculations under its existing programming."

"Oh boy. That's not something I'd ever considered. We'll have to fix that when we're not otherwise occupied. So, down a football field and a half a football field that-a-way."

"A what?" Helblindi asked.

"Never mind," Loki told him as he fought a smile. His brother wouldn't appreciate the humor. He, however, had learned to take amusement where he found it, even in the midst of crisis. Of course, it wasn't his love that had been kidnapped. "What is deep below us, a quarter league or thereabouts?"

"The farming levels."

There must be a path to Yggdrasil there. "That's where they've taken her and likely have their escape planned. We must hurry, I can feel…something; not sorcery precisely, but definitely a reaction to my search." He frowned. "It's her, Skrikja. She…did you know she was from a line that has produced sorcerers?"

"Her family is an old one, that much I know, but the line has thinned greatly."

"We'll need to explore that; now hurry, she's quite frightened." The look on Helblindi's face made Loki wish he'd kept that last bit to himself.

"Loki?" Kara asked softly. "Can't you…you know."

"No, I've not been there, nor do I have a picture of the area fixed in my mind. I could easily end up embedded in a wall."

"Crap."

He bit back another grin. "Indeed." They took off at a run after his now frantic brother.

… …

Helblindi took the corner at full speed, Gymir barely ahead of him. He suddenly found himself flying backwards as his shield-brother's bulk crashed into him. They sprawled on the floor and watched Loki all but dance past their tangled limbs. Loki's lady was not so fortunate and tumbled over their prone forms. She did, however, manage to roll gracefully back to her feet. Stark came to a sliding halt just short of them. "Oh, this isn't good," his distorted voice said.

"You have a fine gift for understatement," Gymir snarled as they watched Loki attempt to use his sorcery against the armor-clad figure that stood near a head taller than him. The greenish gold glow of his power seemed to dissipate as it struck the engraved metal.

"Kara?" he called.

"No go on the fire, trying something else," she reported. The figure suddenly tensed up and then dropped to his knees. "Go," she told her husband. "Amora's just ahead, I can feel the bitch."

Helblindi managed to disentangle himself from Gymir and they both followed Loki. Stark's voice drifted after them. "He's breaking out of it, sis, what the hell?"

"Can you grab him, Tony?"

Their voices faded as he turned another corner and saw Loki facing off against the woman who had attacked Kara the night she had been named goddess of Fire. Skrikja was lying on the floor against one of the walls, immobile. "She's held by sorcery," Loki told him when he stepped into his brother's view. "Let her go, Amora, you don't want her."

"Do I not? A budding sorceress, if I cannot gain her loyalty and service, I have a working that will drain her power. Why would I _not_ want her?"

Helblindi edged carefully to his Intended's side. The Æsir sorceress shifted her position in order to keep both him and Loki in view. Gymir moved out to Loki's right; now the woman had to split her attention three ways. "Stop moving," she ordered. "I don't need to be near her to take her life. It would be a shame to waste her potential, but I'll destroy her just to deny you that resource."

"No!" he screamed and launched himself at the sneering female. Her expression was startled and he'd grabbed hold of her, tumbling into and then, much to his shock, through the wall before she could react. He stared down at the now frozen woman and then around to take in his dark and unfamiliar surroundings. "This is not good."

… …

"Fuck!" Tony yelled as the energy in his arc reactor began to plummet rapidly. All he'd done was grab the big bastard as he lurched to his feet and headed for Kara. An explosion had rocked them and no matter how he tried, he couldn't let go. It was as if the servos in the suit had frozen, locking him into place. "Kara, can you still hear me?" Jarvis was frenetically rerouting power; he needed a small amount, at least, just to keep the electromagnet functional and that fucking shrapnel away from his heart. "I can't hear you," he continued, hoping that maybe she could hear him without the speaker juiced. "I can't let go and something about this guy is draining my power. That recharger that Frigga gave me in in the left leg compartment, I need it applied to the reactor, like yesterday."

He thought he heard a murmuring that may or may not have been her voice. Shit, he hoped it was and that she was telling him she was taking care of it. Oh, fuck. Pepper. He couldn't die like this; not on a frozen planet with his wife of barely three days waiting for him. "Apologies, sir," Jarvis said, the AI's voice slowing as the power ran down. "Am shut-ng…do...wn…cons...ve p...er."

"Come on, Kara," he begged. "I haven't believed in the Christian's god in decades, but you're my honorary sister and I believe in you. Find the damn recharger, kid, please?" Pain wracked his chest as the electromagnet's power faded and the shrapnel began to move. "Oh fuck, this can't be it."

… …

**Author's Note:** Okay, I admit it; I broke my promise and left you with a cliffhanger and it's a doozy. The good news is that the next chapter with its resolution will be up within two days. Forgive me?


	5. Ch-ch-ch-changes

**Author's Note: **The M rating is earned here; don't read beyond where Loki and Kara meet alone with Frigga if you want to avoid it.

... ...

"Damnation!" Loki hissed as his half-brother and Amora disappeared onto the branches of Yggdrasill. He hurried after them and snarled as Gymir blocked his way.

"No," his brother's friend and counselor said. "Free Skrikja first. Helblindi froze the sorceress; he will await you patiently."

"And what if Malekith was awaiting them?"

"Would you not want your own woman freed before help came for you, regardless of how in need of that help you were?"

Loki bit back a retort; Gymir was right. "Yes." Moving to where the young woman lay bound by sorcery, he examined it carefully. "Apologies, my lady; but I must touch you and I fear it will hurt. There is no way around it without the sorcerer who cast the working removing it voluntarily. I think we can safely assume that Amora would do no such thing." Skrikja managed to roll her eyes at him; amazing, really, considering the power of her bonds. "I'll take that as agreement," he said with a reluctant smile.

"Mmmnnsss," she managed.

"Impressive; Amora was right, you do have power. We'll talk about that later." Shifting to Æsir form and dropping to his knees he searched for the congruence of the bonds; there were always two. Once they were located, he held his hands above them and allowed his own power to suffuse his palms. Brute magical force was, unfortunately, the only answer. "Try to relax," he told her. Her muscles shifted minutely and he quickly pressed his hands against the points he'd identified. Skrikja's scream filled the cavernous room as he fought to hold onto the form that best channeled his power.

… …

"Shit!" Kara pulled hard on Tony's armored fingers; with her new Æsir strength they were moving, but far too slowly. She had to get him out of contact with the enemy's apparently ensorcelled armor or all the recharging in the universe wasn't going to do his arc reactor a damn bit of good. Feet pounded down the corridor behind her and she spared a glance. Slingard had arrived. "Just in time. Help me pull Tony off of this bozo. If we can't get him loose, he's going to die."

"As you wish, princess," the Jötunn agreed. "But you'd best let go or…"

"I'll adjust my temperature, it'll be fine. Just do it." She continued to pry the stiff joints open while Slingard worked on Tony's left hand. Finally the grip was loosened on both sides and they pulled the two armored figures apart. "Sit on that bastard," she ordered and reached for the compartment she knew was in the armor covering Tony's left thigh. Much to her relief it popped open after she applied a reasonable amount of pressure and the device that Frigga had gifted to her honorary brother fell into her hand. "Okay, here's the dilemma. Frigga designed this for the suit's reactor, but before he shut down Jarvis told me that both the suit's and Tony's personal reactor were draining."

"Will the suit's reactor recharge Stark's personal reactor?" Slingard asked as he slammed the enemy's armored head into the wall repeatedly. She stared for a split second, distracted as the figure in the ensorcelled armor bounced off of the wall and tumbled down the hall. Slingard followed it around the corner.

"I don't know, but I suspect Frigga did and she specifically said it was to recharge the suit. This had damn well better work," she muttered as she held the gold covered end to the flat surface of the fading reactor in the chest plate of Tony's armor. "Please, God, let it work."

… …

Skrikja gasped for breath. As promised, it had hurt…worse than anything she'd ever experienced in her life. But she was free. Her voice hitched as she spoke to her king's brother. "Please, find him."

"You're all right?" he asked.

"Yes, fine, please…"

"I will." Loki stood and examined the wall into which Helblindi and that bitch had vanished. His pale and disproportionately, by their standards, long-fingered hands ran over the surface with far more speed and surety than those of the sorceress, and it was mere seconds before he stepped through.

Counselor Gymir, shield brother of husband-to-be, knelt beside her. "May I assist you in rising?" he asked. She nodded and took his offered hand. He placed his other hand under her bent arm and supported her as she rose, not letting go until she was steady. He frowned at the wall and then at the entrance to the corridor that led to the ramps used for accessing the upper levels. "Slingard should have arrived by now. Come with me, but stay back a bit. We must check on the others."

"Why were there no guards with you?" she asked as she followed.

He grimaced. "Our king did not wish to tip our hand. He felt that the Svartálfar might hear the approach of too many of our people, and Prince Loki could only mask the energy of a few from the sorceress."

So, it was not that she wasn't important; it was for her safety. A smile grew in her heart. Her intended had given her the most desperate look when he'd seen her so foully bound. "I am glad for the care you have all taken for me," she said.

Gymir frowned at her. "It is your due, my king holds you in highest honor." She found herself biting her bottom lip. Honor was all well and good, but she'd hoped, oh, she was foolish. A smirk grew and eclipsed the man's previous frown. "He would not allow _anything_ that would further endanger the woman who holds his heart."

"Oh. Truly?"

It took a moment before the man puzzled out what she meant. He sighed. "Honestly, I cannot get him to shut up about the subject. It's become irritating. We strive to handle business and all he can speak of is the glossiness of your hair or the curve of your cheek. It is unbecoming of a king. We forgive him only because we envy his good fortune. Now, hush. I hear movement ahead."

… …

Loki slipped through onto the branches and took stock of his surroundings. Amora's still frozen form lay where she and Helblindi had fallen through the entry. Of Helblindi there was no sign. Listening carefully, he heard grunting and scuffling further along the path. He shifted back to Jötunn form and knelt down to add to the ice encasing the sorceress. While he couldn't use sorcery on the branches and the current layer of ice was too thick to kill her through, he could still ensure that he would not have an enemy sneaking up behind him. As the ice built he briefly wondered whether it alone would be enough to kill the woman. Heimdall had survived the Casket's power, but Amora had not the gatekeeper's strength. Loki decided he wouldn't be at all dismayed if the bitch died. She'd caused enough havoc with her jealousies and intrigues to deserve whatever fate might bring her. "Good riddance, Amora," he hissed. Leaving her behind, he headed toward the fading sounds.

"You picked the wrong victim," he heard Helblindi grate.

"I have no idea of what you speak. I sent my agent after an artifact, not a person," Malekith snarled.

"You sent her, you alone are responsible!" There was a crashing sound and Loki rounded the edge of the branch in time to see his brother throw the half-breed against the far surface of the branch. Malekith was on his feet in seconds and charging Helblindi with a spear that glowed with the tell-tale blue of tesseract energy. How many damned weapons had Thanos given away?

Almost without thought, he drew two daggers and flung them into Malekith's chest with enough force to penetrate the dark armor whose customary enchantment also did not function on Yggdrasill's branches. The half-breed staggered and stumbled to his knees, staring down at the hilts. "You," he growled when he finally looked up.

"Yes, me." Loki strolled forward and divested Malekith of his weapon, handing it to Helblindi and then retrieved his daggers, cleaning them on the Svartálfar leader's tunic. "Yes, I'm _still _not dead. Yes, I've beaten you _again_. Thanos is gone, why do you continue to serve him?"

"Fool," his enemy gasped. "There is a void where power was once held. Now many strive to fill it. One day that power will be held again and you will fall."

"No!" Helblindi bellowed. Loki didn't have a chance to even blink before his brother had lifted the Álfar and threw him from the branch they occupied.

"Hmm; I suppose that's one way of dealing with him," he mused. "Come, my brother. Your lady worries for you and I must see what mine has been up to." Taking a firm hold on Helblindi's arm, he led him carefully back to the spot that would return them to the farming level of Jötunheim. He hissed in annoyance when they discovered Amora was gone, leaving only a heap of crumbled ice behind.

… …

"HUUUNNNNHHHHH!" The pain sliced through him as the shards began to move back in the opposite direction as his arc reactor's power was restored.

"Power levels at one hundred and fifty percent and climbing in the armor's reactor, sir," Jarvis reported. "Your personal reactor is restored to full functionality."

"Unh," was the best response he could manage. A snapping sound caught his attention and his face plate came off to reveal Kara's worried expression.

"Tony? Oh, he's still alive, thank God. Jarvis, can you get this armor off? I can't do any healing through it."

"Yes, your highness," Jarvis replied and then repeated his report on the power levels for her benefit.

He lay there, just enjoying breathing, as his armor folded up and detached. Uh oh. He was only wearing his standard neoprene jumpsuit under it; that wasn't going to keep him from freezing in these temperatures. "Oh, shit. Slingard, run back to his chambers, get his arctic wear. If you pass anyone in the meantime, send them with blankets or something. He's going to end up with hypothermia otherwise."

"On my way." Tony listened as the pounding of feet receded.

"Your highness?" That was a different voice, but he couldn't, for the life of him…ha, for the _life _of him, figure out whose it was.

"Gymir, oh, Skrikja, are you ok…uh, all right? Wait, where's Loki and Helblindi?"

"I am well. Prince Loki freed me from the bonds placed on me by the sorceress and then went through the wall to help my husband-to-be," Skrikja answered. That had to be the longest sentence he'd heard the girl say, at least voluntarily.

"Through the…oh crap. It was Amora, and she got through to the branches?"

Tony blinked, his vision was finally clearing up, but damn was he cold. He could see Gymir and Skrikja standing over him. Kara was on her knees, hands held over the areas to either side of the reactor. "I do not think she went voluntarily," Gymir offered. "Helblindi attacked her when she threatened to kill his Intended and they fell through.

That was bad news. Loki had told him a bit about 'walking the branches'. If you weren't careful and in total control of your movements, you could end up in the void, the place that had pretty much broken his half-crazy buddy's mind. "Nnnhh," he managed.

"Tony, stay still. If anyone can find him, Loki will."

"Shit," he said clearly. "Damn it's cold."

"I know. I'm trying to warm you up a bit, but I'm afraid to do too much. Jesus, Tony. You've got to do something about the arc reactor. There's got to be a better way to handle that shrapnel."

"Yeah, sure. Guess I got a couple of goddesses to thank. Frigga sure called it."

"She usually does." Kara sat back on her heels and tensed as running footfalls approached. "Oh, excellent, fur blankets. Over here, please. Gymir, can you help me lift him. I want some of those on the ground underneath and the rest on top."

"I sent another for the arctic wear," Slingard said as he headed back to the mystery Svartálfar in the magic armor.

"Wait; thought you were totally strong these days?" Tony asked as Gymir insulated his hands with one of the furs before lifting him from under his shoulders.

"I am, but I don't want to take the chance of jarring your chest. You've got internal bleeding already. We've got to get you to Asgard; I don't think-no offense to your healers, Gymir, that the locals have enough familiarity with human anatomy to handle this," she said, as she lifted from about thigh level.

"None is taken, your highness. You are no doubt right."

"He also wouldn't survive a trip via the Bifröst," a worried voice said from down the hall. Who the hell was worried about…oh.

"Loki! Oh thank God," Kara said, jumping up and giving her husband a hug.

… …

"You're welcome?" Loki replied.

Kara smacked his chest and Tony coughed out a half-laugh. "Stop it, hurts to laugh," he complained.

"I'm certain," he agreed as he dropped down on one knee. "Heimdall, I hope you can hear me through all of the rock, you've never made that terribly clear. We need a master healer as soon as one can be sent, please. Tony Stark is gravely injured." He sighed and held up a hand that Kara used to get back on her knees beside him. "Helblindi…ah, never mind," he said wryly as he looked up to see his half-brother with his arms full of his Intended. "Gymir, I need someone to go to the surface and make that identical request and then to head to the egress site to meet the healer."

"It will be done, my prince."

"Brother," he called over his shoulder in a teasing voice as he used his magic to examine Stark's injuries and the arc reactor. "I had thought you planned to wait until the two of you were wed."

Helblindi glared at him. "I do her no dishonor."

"Of course not; yet you work both of you up to a conclusion for which neither of you is quite ready. I do know a bit about such things."

His half-brother's cheeks flushed purple and the girl's entire face matched them in hue. "I…understand," he managed. "Skrikja, I…"

"I understand as well. Yes, we should wait, but know that I wait as impatiently as you."

Loki grinned and hoped Helblindi had the sense to hide the absolute jubilation such a response had no doubt brought him. "That…pleases me greatly. I wish only your happiness." Oh, good job. He'd learned quickly.

"Kara, can you feel the damage to this artery here?" he asked, directing his wife's attention to the subclavian. "It can't wait for Asgard's healer. I want you to try and imagine it whole and project your healing energy."

She frowned as she concentrated. "Okay, I feel it and the bleeding. I'm not sure about…"

"You do not need to be certain, just hold the picture in your mind and set your will to focusing the energy on making that picture of a whole vessel the reality."

"Okay, here goes." Her eyes closed and she remained perfectly still for several moments.

He monitored her progress, and allowed himself a small smile as the bleeding slowed. "That's it, love. Keep it up."

"Running out of energy pretty fast; I'm not sure how much longer I _can_ keep it up."

"However much you can manage helps; you don't have to complete it, you've already bought him time that he desperately needed." Her nod was terse as she continued to concentrate. Bellowing down the hall caught everyone's attention. "Ignore it, Kara. Hold to your task." He looked up at Helblindi who was taking a report from a battered Slingard as troops rushed past them with an explanation that Gymir had sent them. "What's happened?"

"Apparently your thawed-out sorceress returned to retrieve her minion; thankfully with little injury to Slingard. They are gone through that wall. Guards with orders to kill any who emerge are now standing by."

Loki sighed. "I'd some small hope that she wouldn't survive being frozen. Such a pity she recovered."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill her while you had the chance," Kara remarked.

"I did not think I should take the time it would have required; I was far too concerned with Helblindi possibly becoming lost in the void to manage it. That's not a mistake I'll make again."

… …

Pepper paced. She was good at pacing, she'd done it often enough. Most people, when asked, would tell you that she was calm and collected and would have been shocked to see her pacing. And my God, she hated it. Shooting a look at the bed where one of the Asgardian healers worked on Tony she tried not to whimper. Hrútr was working quickly and he was ignoring all of them. "I just want to know if he has a chance," she asked, hating how pitiful she sounded. Yes, she was a regular hate fest just now.

"Pepper." She stopped short of walking into Loki's bared blue chest. It was strange, he seemed so thin clothed but he was really very solid and muscular. The thinness might have been illusory because of his height and bone structure. God, her brain was all over the place. "All we're doing here is ensuring he's stable. Then I shall personally take him through the branches of Yggdrasil, directly to Lady Eir. You'll follow with Kara and Hrútr over the Bïfrost. By the time you arrive, Tony should be well on his way to being fully mended."

"We should have just gone to Tahiti," she muttered with a strangled sob. The blue paled to ivory as she stared through a veil of tears and Pepper felt hard arms wrap around her and hold her close. "I know, my friend. I am sorry. We will all do our best for Tony, you know that?"

"Yes."

"Good. I-we love the both of you, and…" he trailed off. "Having friends is…difficult."

The impatient annoyance in his voice caught her attention. Wiping her eyes she forced herself to look at him. That expression was priceless. "You really do care, and deeply."

"I said that I did," he snapped as his arms tightened.

Putting on her best soothing voice and patting his back, she told him, "I know."

… …

Kara was amazed that she remembered the way to the Healer's Hall. They'd ridden the horses Heimdall had waiting for them full speed to the Valhöll. Pepper, even though it was her second trip to Asgard, was still staring around at everything once they'd gotten inside. "I think I was too preoccupied with the celebration to notice all of this before," she said when she noticed Kara's amused look.

"It's okay. I still gawk in some areas of the Valhöll." She stopped in front of the door to Eir's private office. "We'll get answers, if they have any yet, in here." The goddess of Healing wasn't there so Kara poked her head into the next set of rooms. Several healers, including Eir, were gathered around one bed. Loki was standing against a wall chewing on his thumbnail. His expression was calm if severe, but she could feel the worry even through her shields. She closed the door and turned back to her friend. "Okay, have a seat. I'll send someone to get you some tea, well, their equivalent, anyway. Then I'm going to go see if I can help any."

"But you're exhausted. You almost fell over before Hrútr arrived and took over."

"I'm fine. I just needed a chance to regenerate some energy. The trip here gave me that time. Don't worry, I won't do anything draining, that would cause more problems than it would be worth. Just try to relax, okay?"

Pepper gave her a doubtful look but subsided onto a soft visitor's chair. Kara ducked back out of the room and almost ran head-on into Frigga. "Is Lady Pepper doing well?" her mother-in-law asked.

"She's still a bit in shock."

"Of course; I've ordered refreshments, why don't you go check on your honorary brother and I'll sit with his wife."

"Okay." She put out a hand to stop Frigga before she went into the office. "Thank you; you're the only reason he's made it this far." Before she could say anything else Kara burst into tears and found herself enveloped in Frigga's calming embrace. "I should have left him guarding Pepper," she whispered.

"No, dear; if you'd done that we'd have lost either you or Helblindi, I saw it. You took the best path possible under the circumstances. I've already explained this to Loki. Do not allow him to take any blame for this either."

"Can you tell me that Tony will be okay?"

Frigga's laugh was soft, but reassuring. "Really, Kara; we wouldn't have bothered curing his liver damage if we were expecting him to lose his life only a few months later. That would have been such a waste of effort and valuable resources."

"True; you never cure a symptom without curing the underlying condition, so that makes sense. Okay, what can I do to help?"

"You can take charge of your husband and remove him from our sight," Lady Eir called out. The goddess felt as irritated as she sounded. "His glowering is terribly distracting to my younger healers."

"No problem. Come on, Loki. You heard Eir. Let's go see your father."

"Must we?"

"Only if you don't want to go over what happened on the branches more than once."

… …

Odin looked troubled, but then, so did his council. "I like this not," he began. Loki found himself tensing up. "You, my son, did well and I'm sure King Helblindi did not realize the import of his actions. I don't see how you could have prevented it."

He let out the breath he'd been holding as Kara squeezed his hand under the table. "What we have to worry about is if he is somehow found and then makes his way back to the Nine Realms," Haakun said.

"Yes," Loki agreed. "Malekith was never sane; time in the void will only worsen that condition. A more immediate concern is Amora. If she'd not still been all but frozen solid I would have ended it then and there; but magic cannot be wielded on Yggdrasil's branches and my daggers could not have penetrated the ice to either her brain or meng mein. I'd be more comfortable with her escape if we knew whether she had access to any other tesseract-powered artifacts. Far too soon we'll have too many to keep safe. It's already stretched our resources for such rather thin."

"Do you have a sense of how many such items the Titan had?" his father asked.

"I-no; I was surprised by this one. We've collected three that were in Malekith's hands now and that's two more than I would have suspected he had been given. Thanos acted as though sending just that one to Midgard with me was a great sacrifice."

"That," his elderly mentor said, "was because yours is by far the most powerful of the lot. Once the All-Father and I cleared the last two recovered from Malekith and Amora of the Titan's taint, they had little overall value as other than a focus for an egress. I believe Malekith used the fact that the Cube is here in Asgard to link with it to recover Amora from the dungeons. I much doubt he could use his artifacts to go elsewhere."

"Except near another egress and we had just created one in Central Park."

"Exactly." The Grand Vizier turned to Odin. "We shall need to look into destroying the lesser artifacts."

"Agreed. Loki, I will not have you berate yourself for Amora's survival. Your responsibility was to Helblindi, his Intended, and then to Kara and your guests. She shall not be difficult to deal with later."

"I hope you are right."

… …

"That went well," Loki said as they headed back to the Hall of Healers.

"Yep, I didn't even have anything to be pissed at Odin about; that's a first," she told him in as flippant a tone as she could manage.

Her husband frowned at her. "Kara…you are trying to distract me, hmm?"

"Is it working?"

"Perhaps; thank you."

She moved into his path and caught him about the waist and hugged him tight. "It's going to be fine, Loki. Frigga seems very upbeat about the whole fiasco, that's got to mean it all worked out to the best case scenario that she saw."

"True. I hate that we put Tony and Pepper in jeopardy, though."

"Necessary, according to your mother; remember?"

"Yes, yes; that doesn't mean I can't still hate it."

"True." She tugged his head down for a gentle kiss. "I love that you care so much."

"Humph; it's embarrassing."

"You can't blame this one on me, you know. You blurted it out to Pepper all on your own; and you know she's going to tell Tony."

"I know it. They're only mortal, but somehow they're still important to me."

"All humans have that potential."

He sighed heavily. "Most in the Realms other than Midgard see mortals…humans as no better than semi-intelligent pets, at best. I still firmly believe that at one point, that was all that humans _could_ be. But there's an advantage humans have; unlike the rest of us in the Nine Realms, humans continue to evolve, to improve, and now they can and should be considered far more than they have in the past. We, the other races, have stagnated, sad to say." She stared at him for a moment and he frowned at her. "What?"

"If Nick Fury heard you say that he'd keel over from massive heart failure."

"Hmm; that might make it worth repeating."

"Loki!" Damn man laughed as she smacked his chest.

… …

Damn, he hurt...and his chest itched. Reaching up to scratch the skin around the arc reactor, Tony's eyes shot open as his fingers found only scar tissue. "What the fuck?"

"Easy, Tony; you're okay." He looked toward the voice and relaxed as Pepper smiled at him. "They've got the arc reactor packed up to take home with us so you can adapt it for direct use to power another suit of armor; you won't need it in your chest anymore."

"Damn, that's…" he looked down. There were no bandages and the unfamiliar scars looked a few weeks old. "How long was I out?"

"A bit more than four days total. It took one of them to stabilize you enough to go after the shrapnel, another two days to remove it all and rebuild your ribcage and repair the nerve damage to your heart so that it doesn't need a pacemaker, and you've spent the past day and a half recovering." Tears were swimming in her blue-green eyes.

"Hey, what is this? Don't cry, babe. Damn, I'm so sorry I made you worry."

"We were all worried," she told him. "Take a look at Loki's fingers when you see him; he's chewed every nail down to nothing."

He snorted. "Now that's funny. Huh, he told me that he couldn't do anything about the shrapnel when I asked him."

"Loki is many things, but he's not the god of Healing," a woman's voice informed him dryly. Wait, he knew that voice.

"No, Lady Eir, he's not. I take it he didn't realize it was possible for you?"

The Æsir smiled. "There are also many things Loki does not know, though you'll not get him to admit such."

"No joke. Wow, it's all gone. That's totally amazing. It's like a new lease on life."

"Hmm. Yes, well…there is a price to pay for your healing here," she said.

"Ooookay; lay it on me." Pepper was smirking; wait, Pepper didn't smirk.

"I'm afraid we've likely slowed your aging yet again."

Seriously? "Uh, we don't call that a price, that's more what we'd call a bonus." Pepper was biting her bottom lip. Uh oh. Pepper. "Um, by how much do you think?"

"Based on our observations, before we did this healing, your aging had slowed to seventy-five percent of the normal rate of your kind. This will likely slow it nearly as much again. From what Kara has told me, human males can generally expect to live between eighty-five and ninety-five years barring accident or severe illness."

"That's kind of generous, but okay."

"You'll easily live twice that."

Shit. Pepper. "That's…that's not good."

Eir's golden blonde eyebrow rose. "No?"

"Well, it is, kind of, but…"

"Tony, it'll be fine." He closed his eyes as Pepper took his hand. "I'm okay with this, really."

Shit. He'd been so focused on watching his friends stay young while he aged, he'd totally overlooked the fact that Pepper would have been right there with him. But now it wouldn't be like that. Maybe sixty years from now she'd be gone and he'd…well, be late-middle age, maybe. "I'll leave you two alone," he heard Eir say quietly.

"I-I don't want this, Pep," he told her. "I don't want to stay younger if you're not younger with me."

"We'll manage, Tony. It's just another…thing. We've gotten past lots of things."

She was sitting down on the side of the bed and wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. Her words were strong and brave, but he could feel hot tears on his skin. "Come on, Pep. Look, Bruce and Darcy are in the same boat. We'll work on it; that's two geniuses. Sure, maybe biology isn't my field, but I could finance research and…ah, shit. We'll figure something out." Pepper pulled back a little and nodded, she was putting on her brave, competent face again. Damn, he loved her. "I'll love you always, no matter what, okay?"

"Okay. I-I'm all right now, it just hit me all at once."

"Sure, I got that." He gave her his best cocky smirk. "So, are you going to stick with _me_, no matter what?"

As he'd hoped, that got a laugh out of her. "I've made it this far, so yes, I will," she agreed.

"Great."

… …

Loki looked and felt stunned. It was kind of funny, but she knew better than to laugh at him. "You're telling me that we're going to be stuck with Stark for the duration of my sentence?" he said to his mother.

"I hardly think that 'stuck' is the appropriate word," Frigga replied

He sat back abruptly and waved the comment off. "Bah; the man is insufferable."

Oh, now she had to protest. "So insufferable that you chewed your nails to the quick with worry over him?"

"Kara, really; I simply did not want either of us to be accused of causing his death."

"Frigga, you need to see about getting another one of Loki's titles taken away from him. If that's the best lie he can manage, then someone else needs to be the god or goddess of that skill."

Frigga began laughing as Loki nearly choked on his outrage. "Oh, son; you must admit, she's right."

"I must admit nothing," he grumbled. "You have met this man; do you not agree he is difficult to deal with?"

"Loki, you have been most difficult to deal with for well over a thousand years, yet I still love you."

He sighed and his expression finally softened. "I know." There was a long pause as confusion ran through him. "I-it's just that I'd finally accepted that I'd watch this man grow very old and die while we would remain there, in the Tower he built, and now that is not going to happen. There is far too much change in how things go on Midgard; it's not easy to accept."

"Aren't you the one who told me that you've all stagnated and that how we change so much is an advantage?" she interjected.

"I told you that how humans _evolve _is an advantage; the speed at which _circumstances_ change is an aggravation."

"Ah, my mistake,"

"You're forgiven."

"Does he do this often?" she asked Frigga.

"Do what, dear?"

"Never mind; if I point out he's being an ass he'll get pissy and I'm not in the mood to deal with it."

"Kara, I'm not…pissy, I'm…" he broke off with a huff. "I don't know what I am. What are they going to do?"

Loki was seriously upset. He'd allowed a plaintive note to actually make it into his normally controlled voice. She wouldn't pretend not to know what he meant; it was the same dilemma he'd faced with her before Odin had married them, it was the same dilemma Bruce and Darcy and Steve and Beth might face, it was the same dilemma Logan had already faced several times. "The only thing we can do; be there for them, help them to be strong. Listen when they need to talk. And before you tell me that's not enough," she said as he started to interrupt. "I know. That doesn't seem like it's enough but that's all there is. You know we can't intentionally extend anyone's lifespan, and it's not like any of them are likely to be successful in becoming Æsir even if circumstances warranted it. I've had that lecture from Frigga, Odin and Eir, and I'm sure you've heard it before."

"I have," he agreed, giving his mother the sour look this time. "While I understand the reasons why, it…" he trailed off, flustered.

"Sucks?"

"Yes, it sucks."

… …

They'd spent the night restless, nestled in each other's arms. Occasionally, they'd made love but more as a reassurance that they had each other and that they would not be facing such a thing as their friends did than as romantic love-play. Kara was finally dozing, eyes closed and long lashes fanned out on her creamy cheeks. He could spend the next several millennia looking at her thus and never tire of it. The sun had risen hours ago; it was time to leave their bed and face their friends. "Wake up, my love," he said as he kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Mmmph. I feel like I just got to sleep."

"You did. Nonetheless, we must rise. We'll need to talk to Tony and Pepper and see how they wish to adjust their plans."

"Oh. I guess the original schedule is totally out the window, huh?"

"Out the window, over the cliff and down in a ravine," he agreed as he slid from the bed and encouraged her to do the same. "Bath, hmm?"

"Absolutely. And breakfast?"

"I'll order some in for us; it will give us time to settle our minds in privacy."

"Good thinking. Glad one of us is capable of it on so little sleep."

"You're simply not a, ah, morning individual?"

"Morning person, it's called; but you were close."

"Just so. Go ahead and relax in the bath, I'll join you shortly." Loki distractedly returned her kiss and then went to call a servant to request their meal. He accepted missives and read through them quickly as he returned to the bathing chamber. "Our meal should arrive within the hour. I told them not to hurry, we'll have time to enjoy a good…" he broke off as he looked up to see his lovely wife sitting up on the far edge of the bath, feet spread wide on the bench, fingers stroking between her legs and a come-hither smile curving her lips. "Hmm, now that is an amazing sight and an excellent way to start our day," he told her as he dropped the missives on the table and sent his robe to the wardrobe.

Stepping into the water he halted when she spoke. "Stay there," she ordered. He folded his arms across his chest and waited to see what she was up to. "Sit down, relax, and watch."

"Just watch?"

Kara lifted one shoulder in response. "Well, you can play with yourself if you're so inclined, but meanwhile, you're going to watch me."

Oh. My. A slow smile grew as he made himself comfortable on the opposite bench. He could see, but not enough, and decided a bit of magical augmentation to his eyesight was in order; just temporarily, he was not going to get caught in the trap of depending on it once again and becoming vulnerable if his magic were suddenly blocked in some manner. Ah, yes; that was much better. Her slender fingers lazily caressed her clit which was in full view as she was using her other hand to spread her folds. His eyes narrowed as he felt a swift tightening in his groin. Staying on this side and only watching was going to be damn difficult. "You are a vixen," he told her huskily.

"Among other things," she agreed. Gods, she was taking it so slowly. He'd taught her to play roughly with herself to bring herself to readiness and a first orgasm swiftly, but she was not doing so. This would be the best kind of torture. Her index finger circled on and around the small nub almost hypnotically and he could not have looked away from the sight if he tried. His cock had gone from showing burgeoning interest to rock hard by the time she left off and pinched her clit sharply. "Unngh," she moaned and he could see her fluids pooling at the entrance to her canal. "Bet you'd love a taste."

"You'd win that bet."

"Mmm." Kara dipped her own finger inside and then raised the soaked and slippery digit to her mouth. Damnation, he'd taught her that as well. His mouth was dry as he watched her lick it clean and then suck on it hungrily. He lost his determination not to touch himself and took his now throbbing erection in his hand. "I was wondering how long you'd last," she said with a slight laugh in her voice. The finger went back into her slick entrance and then was thrust in and out slowly, teasingly. Another finger joined it as he began stroking himself. "Can you imagine being inside me?" his Kara asked as she pumped her fingers in and out a bit faster. "The heat, the friction, the clinging wetness?"

Shuddering, he increased the speed of his masturbation to match hers. "You know that I can." He winced at the hoarseness in his voice.

The naughty chit laughed. "Oh, you've got it bad," she teased. Her fingers were pumping rapidly now and she was panting. He wondered why she didn't increase her pleasure by playing with her breasts before realizing that it wasn't about her pleasure at all. She kept her folds spread out, leaving every touch, every reaction in perfect view. "What would you do to me, if I gave you leave?" she wondered.

"Before or after I spanked your ripe bottom for teasing me so?" Another laugh rang out as she…sweet Valhalla, she'd now gone to thrusting three fingers in and out of that dripping quim. Kara was rocking on the edge of the tub now, her moans drifted across the water's surface. He groaned at the erotic sight. "Please, love. You need my cock in you. I'll make you come so hard," he promised.

"Later." He continued to watch, fascinated by the way her fluids splashed out from the now frantic motion of her fingers, arching up and then dropping into the bathwater below.

"Let me come closer," he found himself begging. "I won't touch, just let me come sit beneath you."

"You…swear…you…won't…touch…until I say so?" she gasped.

"I swear it." She nodded agreement and he moved across the bath and settled down on his knees before her, still pumping his fist around his straining staff. The close of view of that glistening quim all but undid him. He could feel the droplets of her sweet nectar raining down on his face and he licked up those that fell close enough to his lips. "So delicious, love." She was watching him with narrowed eyes, her moans almost constant now; her fingers pounding into her canal. How she hadn't come yet, he didn't understand. Her gaze bored into his, pleading for something. His jaw dropped as comprehension dawned. This was all for _him_. "Come for me, Kara; come for me, now my sweet wife."

Her shriek was music to his ears as her back arched and her come almost poured from her shaking form. "Loki," she gasped. "Take me, now!"

He grinned and lunged up out of the water, grabbed her pliant body and pulled her down hard on his now painful erection. "Damnation, love!" He thrust up into her urgently his hands hard on her hips as she clasped her own wrists behind his neck. So perfect. All his. "Gods, Kara," he hissed as his finish raced towards him. "What you do to me."

Kara screamed and began to rock in his grasp as another orgasm shook her. "Yes, so-so good," she managed before shrieking again as he slowed to slam her down and hold himself deep inside her several times as his ejaculation finally spilled within her. Finally he stilled, shuddering in reaction. She'd half collapsed against his chest and her breathing was ragged. "Love you," his amazing wife whispered.

"As I love you."

… …

Tony glanced up from his soup as the door opened. "Hey, look who it is," he said with a grin. "My two favorite citizens of Asgard."

Loki's eyebrows rose. "I would think Lady Eir should be your favorite, or perhaps Frigga."

"Nah, they both tell me that without you two I'd have been toast despite anything they did. Besides, if my honorary sister and brother-in-law aren't my favorite people they should be."

"Hmm."

"I guess you can't be in too much pain," Kara commented. "Not the way you're talking with your hands. You dripped whatever that is on Pepper, you know."

He looked at his hands. Sure enough, they were nowhere near the bowl. "Huh. Sorry, babe."

She smiled. "I'm just glad you're feeling well enough to fling soup all over the place," his bride told him. "How did your meeting with Odin go?" she asked the others.

"Not bad, I wasn't tempted to call him out on anything for a change."

Loki snorted softly. "Yes, Kara was in shock for hours over that."

"Good, good. So, when can I get out of this place?" he asked, gesturing with the spoon-free hand around the sick-room. "Not that everyone hasn't been great, but hey, getting restless."

"As soon as Lady Eir clears you for solid foods which could be as soon as tomorrow morning. So, as Kara put it, our original plans are out the window. Do you wish to make a short visit to any of the other Realms or should I take you back to Midgard? Either way I'll be taking you through the branches while Kara and Pepper travel via the Bifröst. It will be a bit before that mode of travel is at all comfortable for you."

"Ah, I kind of want to go home, but a little birdie told me that Sif is in Ljósálfheim visiting her potential in-laws."

"A birdie?"

"He means Fandral," Pepper supplied. "Everyone we know from Asgard, except for Sif, has stopped by to pay their respects and to try and keep the Nine Realms' worst patient entertained. King Frey even made the trip from Vanaheim and Heimdall had someone else take his post for a bit so that he could visit."

"And yes, everybody made sure I knew what a BFD it was for Heimdall to leave the bridge. How does that guy sleep?"

"He does not," Loki answered. "Because he is all-seeing and all-hearing he cannot sleep. It is both his gift and his curse."

"Wow. Guess I should lay off the jokes with him then."

"No, he finds you amusing. Few dare make jokes with or about him. He holds you in high regard because of your fearlessness."

"More like pitiful ignorance, but I'll take it. Anyway, if it's not too much trouble I'd kind of like to go see Sif dealing with Elénaril and company, especially with the pot all stirred over Tolthe's actions. Should be fun."

"You have the strangest idea of fun, Tony. But yes, we can go to Ljósálfheim. Nyvorlas will no doubt be grateful for someone to take the focus of his mother's attention off of his and Sif's budding relationship."

"Aaaaand, why is it just still budding? Damn, I make decisions faster than that." Kara snickered at his statement. "What?"

"Big brother, your decisions don't have potential to affect you for thousands of years. Can you imagine how long you'd wait to decide on anything if it did."

Huh. She had a point. "I'll plead the fifth on that." Loki gave him an odd look. "Never mind, we can explain it when we get back home, uh, my home."

"Our home as well, at least for the next hundred plus years," Loki reminded him.

"True."

Loki was giving him and Pepper an unsettled look. "I-Frigga told us about your predicament. I…"

"Don't, Lokes, just don't. We'll be okay. Don't know how, but we'll figure it out. We don't need sympathy. Understanding if we get down about things at some point, but that's it, got it?" The god nodded. "Cool. Hey, we have a new appreciation for everyone and their crap now. But we're okay, we still love each other and we're going to stick with it no matter how it all plays out."

"We'll be there, anytime either of you need to talk."

"Figured you would be. Oh, yeah, let's see those hands." He smirked as Loki immediately placed both hands behind his back. "Come on, let's see 'em." The god made a show of reluctantly holding his hands out for them to see. Tony frowned; they were perfectly manicured, guy manicure of course. No sign of any nail chewing - to the quick or otherwise. "Huh."

Kara sighed. "Loki, drop the illusion." That earned her the 'Loki Patented Glare of Death' as the look had been dubbed. He sighed and his hands glowed briefly.

"Son of a bitch." The now illusion-free fingers were ragged. Not only had the nails been chewed down but the skin was a mess too.

"Happy now?" Loki said snidely.

"Yes, actually. You know, it goes both ways. We love you guys too."


	6. Hollow Trees

"The buildings all look like they're carved from wood."

"They are, Tony," Loki responded with a slight smile as they waited outside of the hidden entrance from Yggdrasil for Kara and Pepper to reach them. The women were travelling via the Bïfrost, something not possible for Tony during his recuperation.

His human friend stood with hands on hips staring up at what he likely considered an impossible structure. "So, why is it not collapsing under its own weight?"

The Queenshame, as it had been called since Elénaril took the throne some four thousand years ago, had spires and towers some twenty stories tall. "Look at the base of the buildings."

"Son of…they've got roots. They carved a city out of trees?"

"Ancient petrified trees; they are harder than your iron and far more durable."

"Damn. Uhhhh?"

"Magic, Tony. Remember? The Ljósálfar have strong nature magic; they can alter the composition of natural materials. Craftsmen lay their hands on a surface, make it pliable and then shape it as they wish before returning it to its natural composition." Loki frowned as he searched for an applicable comparison. "Much like a sculptor shapes clay and then fires it to make it stable."

As their wives arrived they also stared at the buildings in awe, but the slight furrowing of Pepper's brow warned him that a more practical consideration than construction methods occupied her thoughts. "It is like Asgard with stairs everywhere to move between levels?" she asked.

"Yes, though the stairs blend in better with the architecture and are works of art in and of themselves."

The human woman sighed. "Well, then I certainly won't have to worry about working off the extra calories I took in this week. Wait, is that going to be okay for Tony so soon after heart surgery?"

Kara nodded. "I talked to Lady Eir; she thought it would be perfect for him. We won't be going to the upper levels; I'm told they're all forbidden to visitors. The public areas and guest quarters are all on the first five floors."

"And the stairs have what I believe you call 'low risers', rather easy to climb. They are designed specifically for you to enjoy the journey rather than simply to move from one level to another. You'll see what I mean later. You'll find the interior far more fantastical than the exterior."

Tony made a dismissive sound. "Those exteriors are going to be really hard to beat."

… …

A servant glided into the sitting room, spoke in the musical private language of her hosts that was not affected by the All-Speak and then departed. Sif frowned at Nyvorlas. "Loki and his guests have arrived," he told her. "We should likely go meet them."

From his expression, he didn't seem too enthusiastic about the idea. "You're not pleased by their visit?"

Definitely a sour expression. "Trouble follows her; I've mentioned such before."

"Trouble, as you call it, was already in Asgard when Kara first arrived there; she's partly responsible for putting an end to it. Býleistr was responsible for the trouble in Jötunheim; again, she helped put an end to that. She can hardly be blamed for being present on Midgard during their troubles, the woman was born there."

"I do not argue the point. I simply find it best to stay as far from what you call 'Children of Destiny' as practical."

"Is that why your friendship with Loki faded?" His eyes narrowed at the question. "I know why mine did; his prank cost me something I valued greatly. Did he do aught to you that would have cost him your regard?" He didn't answer, choosing instead to stare out of the narrow window in the tower room. "Or is it that you are simply a coward?"

"I walked into the thick of battle with the Mad Titan with no great skill in close combat, _my lady_," he snapped. "I am no coward."

And he'd done it solely to protect her after her own headstrong rush into a confrontation she had no hope of winning. "I know. Then why?"

He shrugged and stared out the window for a bit more. "Jealousy, I suppose. Oh, not over his position in Asgard," he clarified at her surprised expression. "He was wildly popular amongst our people. They appreciated his wit and his chicanery, not to mention his sorcery. The only ones who were not vastly amused at his prank on Tolthe were Tolthe himself and my mother." He sighed. "I was already overlooked as the second youngest child of a wildly prolific queen, the last thing I wanted was a close friend who garnered all of the attention that I could not."

"So will you allow our involvement to fade should I receive more attention than you do?" she snapped.

"No. I'm no longer that immature youth. I have no problem with Loki."

Sif laughed until she noticed his glare. "Oh, please. Loki is far more a Child of Destiny than Kara could ever be. The outcome of Ragnarök itself hinges on his actions. Why have you problems with Kara but not with Loki? It makes no sense."

"I understand Loki and what motivates him; I do not understand his woman."

Frowning, Sif considered that. "Understanding her isn't that difficult. Despite or perhaps because of her beginnings, she is motivated firstly by a sense of justice, then by love. She is not a person of ambition or deceit. Her sense of justice is so strong as to be unshakable. She stood up to the All-Father himself when she felt him to be in the wrong." She eyed her suitor's expression and folded her arms across her chest. "I sincerely hope that disgust is with your own behavior. Neither Kara or I deserve it."

His mien changed to shock and he dropped to his knees before her. "It is, my lady. I-I am sorry if it seemed otherwise. I-perhaps I am jealous yet again? But this time, I seem to be jealous of the attention his lady receives from my old friend. That's…it's foolish, I know."

"Fairly so. You are the one who repudiated the friendship; you cannot expect him to put you, the one who walked out on him, ahead of the woman who has given him everything." She eyed him with annoyance. "I expect you to apologize…to both of them."

She met his shocked look with a stern frown. If she and her friends had learned to apologize for their treatment of Loki, then his old friend could do so as well. "As you wish."

… …

Loki had told her a bit of what to expect within Queenshame, but she was still awed. The main spiral staircase that circled the entirety of the palace's central spire not only passed different levels of living, working and socializing space, but had an ongoing gallery of artistic works set into the walls. On each floor the staircase opened up into a seating area whose focus was a series of narrow open windows that Loki informed her were guarded by layered wards; one that blocked projectiles, another that blocked noxious gasses and yet another that blocked energy, including spellcraft. He, of course, had studied the wards extensively and she was reasonably certain that he could get past them if necessary. Their guide went on about how impregnable the structure was and didn't seem to notice Loki's smug, condescending grin. "Behave yourself," she whispered.

"Don't I always?" His response earned him an incredulous snort.

"Wow, would you look at that," Tony breathed as a sizeable intricate hanging sculpture of flowing lines and mingled metals came into view. "That's positively aerodynamic. Can't you just imagine it flying through the air?"

Loki's lips curved up into a smile that matched the slight spike of pride she felt from him. "It is indeed meant for flight, Tony. What else can you see in it?" Their guide halted, seemingly content to allow them to stop and admire the display.

"Uh…it's not meant to carry anything significant, at least nothing of bulk or weight; that would throw the whole thing off balance." Her honorary brother pursed his lips and stared at the piece for a moment, his brow furrowed in thought. "But…oh, wow. That sucker is hollow; it's armor, isn't it? How do you put it on and what makes it fly?"

"Oh, come now, Tony. Think about it."

The self-proclaimed genius stared at her husband. "Oh, shit; magic."

"No to the fecal matter, yes to the magic."

"Funny. You knew what I meant. So why is it on display, is it a prototype or something?"

"No, the magic to wear or power it is an art that was lost. The Ljósálfar haven't had anyone able to use it since well before I was born. It is still an incredible piece of work, though."

"That's like putting the Mark XVI on display at the Met with an inactive reactor and no one knowing how to fix it," Tony muttered.

"Yes, but imagine the Mark XVI being built to be used by someone like me."

Kara almost bit her lip to hold in a laugh; the absolutely appalled expression on Tony's face was priceless. "Would it do more than enable the sorcerer to fly?"

"It would protect his body, thus freeing his energy from both the concerns of keeping himself in the air and shielding against incoming attacks and enabling him to focus all of his concentration on his objective. Why do you think we went to all of that trouble to free up those flying sleds when we faced the Titan? While I can shield and shift…teleport, you'd call it, and even hover if I must; it takes up too much time and energy to constantly direct it and does not leave much left over for attack. This armor holds the enchantment to do it for the wearer; the problem is having the power to activate it."

… …

Tony frowned at the positively covetous look on Loki's face and wondered if his not always completely sane buddy had the juice to power this sucker. He eyed the artistically designed armor and the god; yep, he was about the right build for it. Damn, that was a scary thought; or it would have been if Loki wasn't firmly on their side. No, no, it was still a terrifying thought. He imagined Loki with his full magic and wearing something that gave him the protection and mobility of the Iron Man armor; probably more mobility if his knowledge of aerodynamics was serving him at all well. That kind of power would be one hell of a temptation for the god of Mischief and Chaos. He grabbed Loki's arm and steered him away from their guide. "Taz, you've got the power, don't you," he whispered so softly that he could barely hear himself.

"Whatever do you mean Anthony?" Loki asked at a normal volume after tracing a design in the air.

"Did you just block everyone from hearing us?"

"Make it quick, I can't keep it up long or it will be remarked upon."

"Dude, don't steal that thing while we're here."

Loki blinked wide green eyes at him. "I have no intentions of stealing it."

"Hey, don't bullshit the bullshit artist; I know avarice when I see it."

The god's expression became serious. "Tony, I won't steal the damn thing; first, I would need to use sorcery to do so, that would be a violation that would be punished by the binding of my magic, possibly permanently. Second, it would destroy relations between Ljósálfheim and Asgard and that, again, would be severely punished, likely with lifetime imprisonment. Third, it would be far simpler to convince Queen Elénaril to present it to me as a wedding present and partial recompense for Tolthe's actions."

"Son of a bitch."

Loki's smirk returned in full force and he traced a new pattern, pretty much the opposite of the other one if he was remembering correctly, in the air. "No, Tony; I don't think you could replicate that design for your armor. Remember, the Ljósálfar can sculpt it by hand using their nature magic; you would not be able to duplicate the feat using your technology, despite the metalworking knowledge granted you by the All-Father."

Tony had never been slow on the uptake. "Yeah, well, a guy's gotta dream big."

"Exactly." Loki gave the armor an almost contemplative look. "It _is _lovely, though. If you should somehow find yourself able to build a similar armor, I'd love to have a set."

… …

Nyvorlas stood as the two couples were escorted into the small receiving room. The mortals seemed a bit out of breath. Oddly enough, the gods also looked tired, though not from the climb. His eyes stopped as he noticed Tony Stark rubbing his chest. For the first time since he'd met the man, there was no subtle blue glow showing through the fabric of his tunic. "What happened?" he asked.

Loki's eyebrows shot up. "Did mother's letter not explain the delay in our visit?"

"She said that there was trouble in Jötunheim and that the Ma…Iron Man suffered injuries. Obviously she understated."

"Frigga's good at that," Kara muttered.

"Indeed," Loki agreed. "Tony nearly died; but in doing so saved Helblindi and Kara. In thanks, the healers of Asgard treated the old injuries that made it necessary for him to have that device in his chest. The healing process was exhaustive; he needs to rebuild his strength but didn't want to miss out on the rare chance to see the beauty of your Realm."

He narrowed his eyes. Why was Loki pulling the ingratiating…oh. "We are honored by his visit," Elénaril said as she swept into the room. Loki must have seen mother approaching. "How are you feeling Mr. Stark?" she asked.

"Oh, just peachy," he began. "Still tiring a little easy, but I wouldn't have wanted to miss all of this," he said, waving a hand around to encompass his surroundings. "The only place you see anything remotely like your architecture on Midgard is in the imaginings of our most gifted artists."

His mother's face lit up at the implied praise. Stark's tongue was nearly as glib as Loki's, if a bit cruder. "Have you been enjoying the work of our artists?" she asked.

"Definitely. That body armor was amazing. Because of my interest in armored flight, it absolutely fascinated me; it's a crying shame no one can use it."

"Yes, none have been born among my people who possess that type of sorcery in several generations. I'm afraid the ability has wholly died out."

"It is most beautiful," Loki said wistfully. What in the Nine was he up to? "Neither the craftsmen of Asgard or those of Drakkálfar could manage such." Now even Sif was staring at the silver-tongue. His mother preened. "Of course, much of your art is memorable."

"I am pleased you find it so," she told him with a smile filled with pride. She turned to the visiting women. "And you, Lady Pepper, are you enjoying the sights?"

"Oh, absolutely." The woman looked startled; probably surprised that she had been addressed rather than the more noticeable goddess. Why had she been? Elénaril's mouth tightened as her gaze passed over Kara and moved back to Loki. That wasn't good. What was worse, Loki's wife had noticed.

"I can understand why you're not thrilled to have me here," she said quietly. "It's wrong to hold Tolthe's actions and fate against me, but I understand it. Loki, maybe I should go back to Asgard and wait for you there?"

Loki's eyes narrowed as he looked at the now embarrassed queen. "Is this true? Do you add insult to injury by blaming my lady for your consort's perfidy?"

"No, of course not," Elénaril claimed, thoroughly flustered.

"I should hope not. As it stands, I have every right to demand recompense for his actions from your Realm and more specifically, from you. Or are you not responsible for the behavior of your people when you take them to other Realms?" Loki's tone was now as icy as the land of his birth. Nyvorlas shifted position to watch in fascination. Obviously his mother was being played, but he couldn't decide if Kara was part of it, or if she had innocently given Loki the opening he needed to change his tack. Sif's jaw was slightly slack. He nudged her and gave her a slight smile. That lovely strong chin firmed immediately and she moved almost imperceptibly closer.

"Yes, you do," Elénaril breathed, her expression now quite worried. Kara looked concerned as well; it seemed she was innocent in whatever Loki's scheme might be. Tony Stark was another story. He could see that the human was studiously inspecting the trim on the Asgardian garb he wore, no doubt in an attempt to avoid giving the game away.

Loki shrugged carelessly. "It matters not; as rich as your Realm is, it has little to offer that I could not easily purchase or create for myself. I enjoyed my visits when I was young; I will not sully those memories with those of Tolthe's treachery."

It did matter; it was a debt of honor and Loki damned well knew it. Nyvorlas frowned as he ran the entire conversation through his head. What did his old friend want…oh. Hmm, did he really want Loki to have it? Eh, it was of no use to his people and Loki _had_ saved them all from the Mad Titan. He'd also facilitated his relationship with Sif. "Mother?" he began, schooling his voice to diffidence. "Prince Loki will wed his lady according to Midgard's customs in a few short months. Perhaps a wedding gift of great value might serve two purposes." Loki's green gaze caught his sharply and he gave him as innocent a look as he could manage.

"Oh, that is a splendid idea!" He was glad that Edansyr was a great deal brighter than their mother and was starting to take over more of the crown's duties in preparation for Elénaril's planned stepping down in a century hence. Gift giving, however, was still solely their mother's province. "Oh but…ah, I know." She beckoned her adjunct to her and spoke quietly to him in the high tongue. He bit back a smile. His mother had fallen right in with Loki's manipulation. He met his friend's eyes and nodded slightly.

"I'm certain that whatever you decide will be most fitting," Loki said with a slight yet respectful bow.

… …

"What did you do?" Kara asked her husband once they'd closed the door to the hall behind them.

"That was classic; do you know if she's going to give you what you wanted?" Tony wondered.

"Wait, you were in on it too?"

"You both were, love," Loki told her. "Though Tony was more aware of the fact. Yes, Tony. Nyvorlas is quite quick on the uptake and discreet as well. He signaled me that we were successful."

"I wonder if your leather will make it less aerodynamic. Hey, you won't be able to wear the horns of doom with it."

"With what?" she demanded. Pepper felt as exasperated as she did though she held her annoyance to a look.

"That armor on the stairs," Tony told them when Loki failed to respond.

"I thought it wasn't…oh." Kara frowned at her husband. "You said the _Ljósálfar_ don't have anyone that could use it; you never said that you couldn't use it."

He shrugged. "Entirely truthful."

"He'd have to be," Tony agreed. "Keebler mentioned that his people are really good at spotting lies. Not so hot at picking up on illusions if they're high-powered enough, but lies aren't all that much of a problem for them."

"Besides which, misdirection is far more enjoyable than an outright lie."

Pepper was smiling and shaking her head. "That was very smooth," she said. "I don't think the queen has so much as an inkling of what you pulled."

"I should hope not," Loki said with an affronted look. "She never picked up on Tolthe's duplicity. I'd be highly embarrassed if she could see through me while being oblivious to his crude efforts."

"Soooo?" her honorary brother prompted.

Loki frowned at him. "What?"

"No horns."

The frown deepened. "That is formal armor; it's not actually intended for combat. The only reason I use it is for psychological effect."

"Oh, come on. The anti-Claus uses the same helm for everything and so does your dad."

"It's dramatic; the Æsir enjoy drama."

"Says the half-Æsir drama queen."

Loki's eyebrows lifted and he glared down at Tony. "It's a saying, hon," she interrupted hurriedly. "Drama queen is applied to both men and women back home. It's used to describe anyone who enjoys employing theatrics in a non-entertainment capacity."

"Yeah, what Kara said."

"Pfft. You see, love? He is insufferable."

"Pot meet kettle," she murmured as Pepper totally cracked up.

… …

Unlike the other men in his adoptive family, Loki actually enjoyed the many of the dishes popular amongst the Ljósálfar. It was another difference that had always made him stand out. The cuisine was light on red meats and included generous portions of fruits and vegetables all enhanced by light and flavorful sauces. Entrees that featured fish or fowl were more flesh-heavy than those with other meats. Pepper was eating her meal with great evidence of enjoyment. Tony and Kara, however, were picking a bit; odd since they both enjoyed most Asian dishes which had distinct similarities. "What's wrong, love?"

"Huh?" She gave him a quizzical look until he glanced down at her plate. "Oh, I don't recognize some of these vegetables and I'm allergic to mushrooms and olives so I'm kind of afraid to try them."

He sighed. "Darling, have you tried eating mushrooms or olives since you became Æsir? Your entire system changed, it's highly doubtful that any food sensitivities remain."

"No one bothered to tell me that and I wouldn't have tried eating them because I never cared much for them even before they were identified as the reason I kept getting sick when I ate certain dishes."

"Ah. Well, you can safely try anything. If you don't care for it, then you can put it aside. Does Tony have such allergies?"

"I don't think so; he's picky about certain foods, though. Pepper is allergic to strawberries, but I don't see any…" she broke off and watched as he reached out to grab Pepper's hand before she reached her mouth with a forkful of food from a new dish that had been placed before her.

"Those are highly similar to strawberries in all but color," he told the woman quietly.

She paled making her freckles stand out. "Oh, thank you."

"Thank Kara, she just warned me." He turned back to his wife. "Food allergies never occurred to me; they're all but unknown in Asgard. I'll remember to ask before I take anyone else anywhere in Realms other than Midgard."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"Is something the matter with the musk fruit?" Elénaril asked as Pepper set the offending dish aside.

Loki jumped in before the mortal…human could answer. "I'd forgotten to warn them about foods similar to ones that they have health issues with on Midgard, my apologies, your majesty. Musk fruit is distressing similar to a fruit called strawberry on Midgard and is likely to make Lady Pepper deathly ill."

"Ah, are there any other issues we should be aware of?" she asked politely while signaling a servant to remove the plate.

"Avocado," Tony supplied. "It's not a happy mix with my system." Pepper began chuckling quietly.

He'd ask later, Loki decided. "I am familiar with them and can assure you that nothing grown in Ljósálfheim is remotely similar. Vanaheim, however, has a dish called 'grønne lim' that you should avoid."

Elénaril's nose wrinkled in distaste. "We would not serve that here, nor anything of that fruit. You enjoy fish, yes?"

"Oh, absolutely."

"Then try the hákarl_, it is a delicacy." _

_Tony looked at the dried cubes of fish that were drenched in a thin liquid and gave him a questioning look. "I think not," Loki advised. "The taste is too strong for human palates, I'm afraid," he directed to _Elénaril.

"Hey, strong isn't…"

"It's fermented shark, Tony, and has a high content of what you would call ammonia."

"Oh. Good call. It's definitely not suitable for human consumption."

The Ljósálfar Queen was pouting slightly now. "I'm certain everything else is quite suitable and will be found delicious, at least so far as foodstuffs are concerned," Loki assured her. "I know that my mother's letter advised you not to serve them your fermented beverages."

"She did. The juices being poured are fresh and none are from the musk fruit, so even Lady Pepper may drink them in safety."

"Excellent, my thanks," he replied. Kara was still picking at her meal, but at least she was trying everything now. He'd have to reconsider taking his teammates on journeys to the other Realms. The care and feeding of humans was the stuff of nightmares.

… …

Elénaril smiled benignly at her guests. Despite the problems with the meal-mortals had such delicate health, apparently; the feast had gone well. Her younger son and his warrior-maiden had chatted companionably with the visitors and had led conversations that included the select group of courtiers she'd invited to join them. The Æsir wasn't so unsuitable as she'd first thought when Nyvorlas had told her of his decision to woo the woman. "Prince Loki," she said, turning to the only one among them with family ties to three of the Nine Realms' royal houses. "What would Asgard, Vanaheim and Jötunheim think about a marriage between your warrior goddess and my younger son?" Silence blanketed the room.

"Mother, such has not yet been discussed," Nyvorlas insisted in a quelling tone.

"Perhaps it should be, the way you dote upon the girl."

"Personally, I think it a splendid idea," Loki managed to interject. "They're both so strong-willed that their inevitable disagreements would provide endless entertainment."

"Oh, surely she'd give ground to a husband; that is the role of a wife."

"You said that in front of the wrong group of women," the human male muttered.

"I give ground to none who are in the wrong," Sif stated hotly.

"But…"

"I'm afraid I'd have to agree with Sif," Loki's princess said, though far more gently. "I take it that your belief in this is why you've always taken consorts but never remarried?"

She stared at the fire-haired Æsir. "What are you saying?"

"Were you afraid that marrying again would cause you to be less independent as a monarch?"

"I-well…"

"It shouldn't; not unless your laws need a serious revamping. Of course if you have…"

"Kara, you are no longer a psychologist, please stop," Loki asked.

The woman's mouth snapped shut and she stared at her husband for a moment. "You're right," she finally said and then looked back to her. "I'm sorry, I was out of line. But as you see, Loki asked, he did not tell me what to do, and because he is right, I'll do as he asks. I don't give ground, I have a reasonable discussion and the person who is wrong agrees to correct his or her actions."

The ebony-haired prince leaned his head on one hand and stared at his wife. "My love, that wasn't stopping."

"Oh." Her face flushed. "I'm sorry, shutting up now."

Before Elénaril could comment, her chatelaine came up to whisper in her ear. "Oh, very well," she told the man. "I am reminded that our evening's entertainment is awaiting us. Shall we all adjourn to the theatre?"

… …

The distressingly tedious entertainment was finally over and Nyvorlas drew Sif with him to follow the visitors into their common sitting room. "Thank you both for distracting my mother," he said to Loki and Kara once the door had closed behind them. "That was skillfully done."

Kara grinned. "You're welcome. I'm just glad I picked up on what Loki wanted well enough. He couldn't drop his shields too completely or she would have felt it."

"How did you manage that, love? I was glad of it, but wondered," Loki wanted to know.

"You asked instead of ordered…and without being prompted or reminded, in the middle of a society that wouldn't expect you to ask. I was, um..."

"Shocked?"

"Curious."

"Oh, I'm certain. Eventually I'll remember to ask all of the time."

He stared at the couple. "The two of you confound me."

"In what way?" Loki asked him.

"You argue hard and often, yet you seem so…connected."

"Do we argue often, Loki?" Kara asked.

"I hadn't noticed such. Nyvorlas, I know that we disagree often, but our arguments are rare. We're very different people, so disagreements should be expected."

Sif was staring at them. "Wait; that was planned?" she asked.

Loki grinned at her. "It was; we did not wish our visit ruined by having to smuggle you back to Asgard after you'd inserted Elénaril's head up her backside for interfering in your courtship."

"Humph. I'd be limited to such; they won't allow me to carry my sword."

"That is why sorcery should be a coveted ability," he told her, allowing a sword to appear and then disappear from his hands.

"Or perhaps why one should be wooed by a sorcerer," she muttered.

Loki's eyebrows rose. "You should have thought of that several centuries ago."

"Ahem. Good thing she didn't or I'd have to be hurting her," Kara told them.

Sif nudged the other woman. "It would never have happened; I've always been partial to blondes."

Pepper smirked. "I thought Kara handled it beautifully. Queen Elénaril looked as though her world was crashing down around her. Forgive me, Nyvorlas, but is your society really that, uh, hidebound?"

He sighed. "I'm afraid so. For all of the political power women wield, within their marriages they are treated as the lesser half. I do not agree with this," he hastily added as Sif's brows drew together. "A strong and capable woman should be treated as such in all aspects of life."

"Nice save," Stark told him. "Hell, everyone knows I'd be a mess without Pepper." The human eyed Loki who had remained silent. "Here's where you're supposed to say something similar about Kara, bud."

Loki huffed impatiently. "It's not similar at all." Nyvorlas held his breath waiting for the Princess to explode. Much to his surprise, the woman slipped an arm about her husband's waist and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. Loki smiled down at her. "I would be dead were it not for Kara," Loki concluded.

Stark chuckled. "Even better save."

Apologies weren't something he did well, but Sif was looking at him expectantly. "I-I hope that Sif and I achieve a relationship as close as yours is," he said to Loki and Kara. "Your obvious love and respect for each other is a glad sight and I am happy for both of you." That had best be good enough; he didn't think he could manage more. He glanced at Sif. Ah, good, she looked pleased.

Kara was smiling as well. "I think you will."

… …

"I need to ask a favor of you," Loki asked Nyvorlas. "Though in actuality, it would be doing yourself a favor."

"And what would accomplish such?"

"Kara and I must return to Jötunheim in the morning for Helblindi's wedding and I am loath to drag Tony through Yggdrasil's branches so soon after his injuries were healed. Nor do I wish to subject Pepper to yet another trip through the Bïfrost. I hoped perhaps you and Sif could amuse them with a tour of your Realm for the next two days. They really should see more of Ljósálfheim than Queenshame and perhaps even more of that than the Palace Spire."

"And if Sif and I are busy playing host and hostess we will not be subjected to my mother's continued probing into the progress of our relationship; an excellent notion, indeed. Sif, what say you?"

She shrugged. "I have no objections. Honestly, I was getting a bit restless."

"Then it is settled, my friend. Sif and I shall take your honorary brother by marriage and his wife on a tour of the Realm while you do your duty to your brother."

… …

**Author's Notes:** Yes, this is short and pretty fluffy, and just moving the plot along. We'll come back to Sif and Nyvorlas later, I promise.

I have no freaking clue where the idea for the Ljósálfar armor came from. I was just intending to have them admire an intricate sculpture. Suddenly, the armor was born and Loki wanted it; badly. Naughty Loki taking over my story again! The dish called 'grønne lim' is made up. It means 'green paste' in Norwegian which is my opinion of avocados. 'Hákarl' is not made up, though it's usually served plain. It is fermented shark and is found in Iceland and other Nordic countries. Gordon Ramsey spat it out when he was served some and Anthony Bourdain described it as the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing he'd ever eaten. Even Andrew Zimmern couldn't say anything nice about it. On to Jötunheim for frosty wedding bells!


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